The Third
by Dracosy
Summary: The battle had been won, but the war is just beginning. On their way to the new target, Taylor shares her story. Warning: Things may not be what they seems to. I'm obviously NOT the owner of worm or prototype and all that obvious stuff so just… whatever.
1. Chapter 1

So... You really want to hear my history? Well, I guess that's a way as good as any other to spend the time we have left, but I'm not sure if I'll be done before we have to split.

Most would say it began with the accident, but I wouldn't be among them, though I must recognize that it played a crucial part on it. No, it all began even before I knew it was happening. Probably before I was even born.

My childhood was as happy as it could have been, but I was prone to spend most of my time with my parents. My mother, being a teacher, taught me to love books from an early age, while, for my father, it was all about food and games when he was around. Life at home was so gratifying that I never felt the need to go out and explore how the world around me really was.

During my first years at school I was a lonely girl because I lacked the expected social skills others take for granted, so, when I made my first friend, I think I thought there was no need for another one. Why would I invest the effort needed to get more of what I already had when I could just enjoy it?

Our time together was truly enjoyable and, from our point of view, days merged into a constant shindig. We were more than friends, sisters if you want, and we shared every single feeling or thought that crossed each others' minds.

I could say it was my fault, that it wasn't sensible to put all my eggs in a single basket, but everyone else got their share of responsibility on how everything developed in the end.

When my mother died, I shut myself out of the world, or at least most of it. Every night, I would run away and sneak into Em's room, looking for support. I knew I was taking advantage of our friendship, but that's what friends are for, to rely on you when at your highest, and support you at your lowest. At least, that's what she made me believe at the time.

After so many sleepless nights, I was already starting to move on. Thanks to her unconditional support, I was slowly coming back to being me. Then, at the worst possible time and after months of literally ignoring me, dad suddenly stuck his nose into my business, sending me to a camp to 'help me get over it'. By then, he was emotionally worst than I was, and I knew it, so I complied. The camp wasn't that bad, but I didn't really knew how to make friends, so I basically spent it alone or with the monitors. All in all, it didn't help me in any noticeable way, but neither did it make me feel worse. However, that time apart was what allowed our relationship to decay, and eventually rotten.

During my absence, Emma found herself alone. Not because she didn't had any other friends, but because I wasn't there, alongside her, every night. During her new-found free time, she thought quite a lot about us or, more specifically, about me. The loss of my mother turned me into a messed-up sobbing wreck. It was a tragedy, but life keeps going and I was clinging to the past way too much.

After giving it a few days of deep thought, she came to realize that we weren't that different in that respect. If the same were to happen to her's… the thought itself made a chill run through her spine. Trying to clear her mind out, she went outside for a walk, in the middle of the night.

That would be fine if we happened to live in, let's say, New York, but we didn't. Brockton Bay wasn't the safest place for anyone to be during the day, let alone for a pretty girl in the darkness of the night. She was lucky, or unlucky, enough that no one noticed her.

After a long while, she reached the end of the good neighborhood, but it wasn't enough. There had to be a way for her prove herself that she was different or, at least, that she could change. If she was able to do it, I should be too. Besides, it may even give her a new point of view into my problem or new tools to use to help me improve faster.

Coming from an alley, she heard muffled screams. That late into the night, there was none else around, so she approached slowly in order to take a peek. There, on the ground, was a dirty, bloodied woman. On top of her, two filthy thugs were satiating their most deviant desires. She was obviously in need of help but, with the rope on her mouth, there was no way for her to ask for actual assistance.

Emma felt the need to be the one supplying it and, if something went wrong, she could scream asking for help. Grabbing a nearby rusted pipe, she pulled with all her strength, but it made no attempt to follow her will. Movies lied to her. After a while, she realized there was no way for her to actually uproot it anytime soon, so she just let her grasp weaken. Soon after that, her knees followed her hands example, letting her fall to the ground crying. She was a weakling, just like Taylor, unable to help even those suffering just a few steps away from her. She didn't even brought her phone, so calling the police wasn't an actual option. Maybe, if she shouted asking for help, a cape would appear and save the day.

By then, she was no longer able to hear the woman pained moans, her own sobs breaking the silence of the night. Too late, she noticed it wasn't just that she couldn't hear the moans, but that they had vanished. Both men were surrounding her, their pants down and a twisted expression of amusement painted over their faces.

"Look at this Dav'! Poor lady is crying, lets have some fun with 'er, shall we?" One of them said while grabbing her by the wrists.

Frightened, she took a second too long to react to the obvious threat and, by then, she was already under an overwhelming grasp. The men dragged her into the alley and threw her on top of their previous victim upon which they began to tear her clothes off.

She resisted as long as she could, kicking and shouting, but they restrained her even stronger, whispering something she was unable to understand into her ear. She had almost given up hope, her eyes covered with tears and almost unable to see what was going on. Then, when she was about to desist, two sharp whistles were heard over the clothes tearing fuss. After what, both men fall on top of her, unmoving and dripping.

It took her a few minutes to recover enough of her strength to remove the unmoving corpses laying over her. When she finally managed to, one of her favorite capes was lazily looking at her while hanging from a sill. Both men were dead, a bolt stuck in each of their backs, their blood covering most of her ragged dress but, given what her back was covered in, blood wasn't really at the top of her 'things to get rid of' list.

"Thanks for your help." Was all she was able to say to her savior. She was more of an avenger than a savior, known for her tendency to apply violence to those who had committed a crime rather than prevent them from committing it.

From her position in the sill, Shadow stalker observer as the young girl stood after freeing herself from the corpses. At first she thought about killing her too, but the girl fought back even when the odds were against her. Most whores around were too coward, too high, or didn't care enough in the first place, to even try to resist when thieves or rapists took advantage of them. This girl was different somehow and that draw her attention.

That's how they met. One could say it was fate but, sometimes, a series of small event set forces into motion which can make their added origins as a whole seem insignificant in comparison. Either way, this one was but an act of divine providence, as far as my definition of divine went. Their two motivations were quite uneven, but the road they would have to walk was the same. The latter wanted to see how far the other would be willing to go, while the former's objective was to free me from the chains of the past. Little they knew about the monster they would bring into existence but, in the end, I guess they both fulfilled their roles perfectly.

For me? It was the beginning of a hellish existence. When I got back from the camp, I guess I went to my friend's house as soon as I could. I missed Emma's support, but I missed even more our time together as friends, having fun and lying around. After I finally reached her door and ringed the bell, someone else opened the door.

The first time I saw her, I thought she was gorgeous, and she knew it. Unlike me, she had a nice figure, her hair seemed nicely brushed and her dark skin was probably as smooth as Emma's, not that I paid any attention to those things back then given how I dressed. Her face spoke of hidden threats, but I probably missed the signals then. I was slightly taken aback when my best friend refused to even speak with me but, when they shut the door on my face, I new something was really wrong.

I hopped it was just some misunderstanding between us, but I was mistaken. From then on, they made their best to shatter any hope I had in a reconciliation. At first, they just made some nasty commentaries about me. Slowly but steadily, as the year went on, they escalated and, eventually, dragged the rest of our classmates into it. They had the upper hand the whole time, being more and having all the knowledge Emma had about me on their side.

After a few months, I began to keep track of their pranks in my diary, but soon I needed a few pages just to keep track of the things I lost each day… well, some lost, others damaged beyond recognition. My homework, photographs, books... Everything I left unattended for more than a few seconds would undergo the same fate.

This kept going on for more than a year, but then, the same way it all began, the harassment came to an end. Suddenly, some of my classmates approached me, at first asking for help with some assignments. After a couple of weeks, right before the holidays, some even invited me to go watch a movie. Emma and her two new friends kept their distance, but mostly ignored me, and that was a remarkable improvement after what I went through during the last year of my life. I should have seen it come. Nothing happens without a reason, and the reason behind my recently improved social situation was to make me let my guard down.

Then, the other shoe dropped. It was on the third day of January… and I hope that wasn't a hint, because there was no way for me to pick it up at the time. Truth be told, I barely remember that day. I know I got into the school ground, I can told you that people was unexpectedly friendly with me, forced smiles displayed by most as I went by. Then, while I was approaching my locker, everyone hid their disgust about the sickening smell soaking into everything around. I don't know why I did nothing, maybe I didn't noticed? I can't tell for sure. I guess that I was so concerned about everyone's attitude that I didn't even acknowledged the pestilence.

When I reached my locker, it was quite obvious that there was something wrong with it. You could almost chew the vapor oozing through the slits. In a rush, I opened it in a meager attempt to recover whatever I had inside at the time.

Unfortunately, as the door opened, the depth of it hit me, and I was unable to keep my breakfast in. While I was still throwing, Sophia took a grip on my hair and pushed me inside of the damned cubbyhole. Closing the door, and locking its lock. They all laugh. After a while, everyone left, leaving me alone. I think I cried or, at least, that's what would make sense.

After who knows how many hours, I triggered. Given the power I got out of it, I guess I truly wished for a way to get out of my prison. I'm not sure of this, not at a hundred percent, but I think that what I got wasn't intended for me, not that it was for anyone else either. It was, a pondered accident.

It wasn't something exceedingly powerful, but it was definitely game-changing. Unfortunately, it didn't came with a manual, so my first use was... misguided. I wished for a place where none would bully me just because they could, where others would get all the attention, leaving me alone and undisturbed. A place were the real monsters were tracked while those unimportant were left alone. I guess you can get what you wish for, and still be disappointed of what you got.

Suddenly, I was no longer within the locker. The brightness difference made it hard for me to got all the details in, not that I needed to see to be able to realize what was going on. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I guess that, technically, the last words I heard were "Put the vial down and back away!" After that, the crashing sound made by a glass breaking and some kind of rifles opening fire startled me.

When my sight was recovering, a stray bullet got me, so I expended my last breath in getting out of there. I didn't know why but, I returned to the disgusting locker rather than, lets say, reappear in my bedroom. By the time the smell reached me again, I was already out of commission.


	2. Chapter 2

Days since infection: 1

I woke up, slightly dizzy and hearing some loud white noise, probably the side effects of a concussion. I had no idea what I was inside of, but I would have bet that, whatever it was, its original purpose wasn't human storage. What I was sure about though, was that I was hungry.

Trying to find a way out, I examined my surroundings. Feeling the metallic walls around me, I found out that one of them moved slightly when touched, so I tried to push it open. It gave way easily under the little strength I could muster, so it was probably already broken.

When I got out of it, I found myself standing in a dark hallway packed with lockers on each side. Within the one I just got out of, I found a couple of filthy books and hardly a dozen used pads. Disgusting. One of the books, the one in best shape, had the name 'Taylor Hebert' written on its back cover. The name rang a bell, but I wasn't sure why.

I had the feeling that I wasn't supposed to be there, so I wandered the dark hallways looking for a way out. I found some classrooms with open windows, but I was on the second floor, so I kept looking until I found the stairs. The windows on the first floor were unluckily covered with grids and, when I finally found the main gates, they were locked too. A thick sturdy looking chain kept both sides together, so I didn't even bothered with it. I was obviously within a school, and schools had security guards, so I just had to wander a bit more until one found me and helped me out.

For a while, I paced around unsuccessfully. Then, I heard some keys tingling in the distance. Increasing my pace, I headed for the source of the noise. There was a night-guard with a flashlight opening the gate's padlock. At last, I was going to be able to get to the outside. Not that I knew what was outside or where was I supposed to go… Maybe he knew and could give me some guidelines, or help me understand were I was supposed to go.

Unfortunately, before I could ask him for help, he noticed me. I don't know why… well, I know now, I mean that I didn't back then. He took a gun out of its case and, without a word, emptied its magazine on me.

Heavily bleeding, I did what anyone would do if almost a dozen bullets hit them straight on the chest, I fell to the ground and let myself bleed out to dead while unconscious.

In the end, it didn't work out as I expected but, at least, I had a nap full of wild dreams with plenty of sex, drugs and weapons in them. The guard was no longer around when I awoke, but the gates were open, so I took my chance and left. There wasn't any holes in my chest, and I was okay with that, probably because I was still finding it hard to think clearly. I was barely able to remember a thing about me, but I knew that wasn't supposed to be inside of Winslow at night.

Climbing the outer gate to be able to get to the street, I found myself once again lost. It was true that I could recall some details about were I was, but it all seemed distant, disperse. Maybe I should have planned it better, but at least I wasn't trapped anymore. My dizziness was fading, but the memories about who I was were still blurred at best. The white noise was turning into soft whisper within my mind, one I could almost understand I should say, so the concussion wasn't probably that bad.

I should had walk around looking for a hospital, I was confident about my capacity to locate one, but I was finding it hard to keep myself straight, and the hunger was getting worse.

After a few minutes, I saw a police car approaching me. Not wanting to be shot again, I readied myself just in case I had to run for it. As the vehicle came slowly to a stop, the officer riding in the passenger seat got out. "Are you okay?" he asked. Subtly, his hand releasing the safety strip on his holster. "There have been reports of shots being fired near this location."

"I… I didn't hear any shot." I told them, my gaze going form one to the other. They were just being cautious. "Could you please take me to the closest hospital? I'm not feeling well." He eyed me suspiciously. After a while, the one still inside of the car agreed to give me a ride there.

During our short trip together, they kept quiet and so did I. Once we were in the parking lot of the hospital, the driver turned around and said "You are Taylor, right? It's been a while since I saw you. You look more like her each day… anyway, I've already send your father a message telling him were you will be. He was worried sick about you, you know? Would you mind if I stay with you until he arrives?" Since I didn't really cared, he accompanied me while in the hospital.

Once inside, I was provided a hospital gown. I felt awkward while taking my clothes off, but the feeling disappeared after they took my clothes away. When the doctor finally came, the guy making me company left. He asked me all sorts of questions, and performed what he called 'standard medical tests' for hours.

After more than an hour waiting alone in a room, I was guided to another one where my father was waiting. Well, there were actually three persons waiting for me. One was a woman, something quite incompatible with been my father, and the biggest man was wearing an expensive looking power-armor. That left the man with reddened eyes, and I could have swear I had seen him somewhere before. "Dad?" I tentatively said before he jumped on me, weakly hugging me.

When he regained his composure, and let go of me, the doctor explained him my situation. According to his test, I had dissociative amnesia. It was a rare, but usually temporary, kind of amnesia. Given time, I should recover most of my memories and return to my normal self. Also, they performed and MRI scan while following the protocol and I presented an active corona pollentia, so they had to report my case to the local PRT. When the doctor left, my father approached me. "Taylor, are you alright? Do you need something?"

I was feeling better, the dizziness was gone, and I recalled the fact that I triggered, but I had a hard time remembering anything personal before that. "I'm hungry. Hum... Can I get something to eat?"

"Sure little owl, I'll bring whatever they have in the cafeteria, you want anything special?"

I didn't really cared, so I just said "Surprise me."

He left hastily while my recently obtained escort just stood there, stoically measuring me. They knew I was related with the incident at the school, but their superior ordered them to avoid any reckless behavior and prioritize my recruitment.

When my father returned with a chicken cheese burger, they all sat down and began to decide about my future without taking me into account, not like I cared. The woman sweet talked my dad while Armsmaster pointed out the benefits of joining their ranks. From what I heard, it was a good deal. I'll be joining the wards, where they would help me to understand and master my powers. The salary was also considerable, even more with our apparent economical breakdown. Damn, they would even pay the hospital's bill and provide any further treatment I needed to recover my memories. I almost gave my father instructions on how to sign the contract, since he was making the pen dance in his hand, but there was a more oppressive matter I had to deal with. "I'm still hungry, could I please go and get something more to eat while you seal the deal?"

"Of course sweety," Miss Militia said with a comforting smile. "Take whatever you want, my treat."

With a smile of my own, I left. From what I heard, I was going to be working with other kids with powers and, if they were going to be how she was saying, it was going to be fun. 'Maybe I should try to use my powers a bit and get a taste of them' was a thought that went through my mind a couple of times, but I left it for later, I had other priorities.

The cafeteria was fortunately a bit crowded, so no one realized how much I actually ate… besides the old woman in the till, which was looking at me with some degree of disbelieve. Everything was delicious and I was enjoying myself until she stepped in.

Indifferently moving aside her brown hair with a cute gesture, as if she couldn't see me, a girl bumped into me. Surprisingly, I didn't even flinched, the impact barely registered, but she fell awkwardly backwards. "You okay?" I asked to the newcomer when I saw her lying on the floor next to me.

Shouting and on the verge of crying, she said "Of course I'm not! You are always picking onto me! I cant even visit my grandfather at the hospital without been the target of your meanness!" Sobbing, she skilfully made everyone focus their attention on me. I didn't even knew who she was, though her face felt somewhat familiar, so I did the only thing I could. I blatantly ignored her while I kept enjoying my roasted chicken. Unluckily for me, not everyone gave as many fucks as I did.

"You should at least apologize to this poor girl! Kids these days have no manners," an old man said as if trying to be a cliche.

A guy approached to provide her with some comfort, while a couple of teenagers dressed in red and green approached me. "You better leave. Trouble makers ain't allowed within hospitals if they can't behave properly." Truth be told, they were honestly trying to perform a good deed, even if it was for the sake of making an impression on her.

"Then you better leave. I'm just having dinner peacefully… or trying to. People are being a pain in the ass tonight," I said as I took another bite from a breast slice.

One of them grabbed my wrist, though he wasn't as strong as he seemed to be. Seen his companion fail miserably in his attempt to force me out, the second gangster made a mistake. His last one actually. Swiftly, he took his butterfly knife out, placing it beneath my neck. "You better move now."

Since he kindly asked for it, I provided. While I was rising, his firmness faltered, accidentally cutting my neck wide open. It's not like it really hurt me that much, but I panicked. With all my strength, I spun, making my forearm go literally through his torso. But I didn't had the time to give it a second thought. While his upper body was still in the air, and his lower side still stood, his companion stabbed me with another knife.

Everyone was running around like headless chickens while screaming or crowding together, pushing each other to be able to reach the doors.

Then, in the middle of that chaos, it happened. As if out of a body horror movie, from almost every inch of my body, huge bloody tendrils grew. Piercing through the still dying body, they dragged it in, allowing my central mass to assimilate it. For the first time since I awoke, my hunger diminished, while my knowledge of the bay and the ABB increased. The newly added knowledge made me realize about something, something horrible, but fitting. I was a good girl, that was a fact. But there were bad people running wild in the world. They would strike down those they deemed inferior, using any means within their reach, and there was no one who could or would stop them. Yes, I had already eaten two guys while they were still alive, but who was really the bad guy? The one punishing because he could or the one punishing because he was forced too? I had the moral superiority in this situation and, by ending their lives, I was serving the greater good and, by doing so, I gave myself new knowledge I needed to seek and judge those who deserve it.

The other boy, Nozomi, was still trapped within my waving tendrils. I had gained some control over them, maybe because I realized they existed, but he was still doomed. What he had done, what he would do if I let him go… there was no way I could accept the responsibility I would be imposing onto myself if I were to let him left from there alive.

The creaking of his bones was still audible while I approached the girl laying next to us. She was crying, that time for real. There was little I knew about her, but it was clear that she knew me. How well? That was an unknown. Should I risk it? Where should I drawn the line? I was still confused, but her knowledge about me could help me clear my head.

Not that far away from were I was standing, just a couple of stories away, my father was talking to the local heroes. They were going to turn me into one of them, and there I was, punishing the evildoers even before I was told to. But there were still tons of things I didn't knew. Would they approve of my acts? Did I really care? Could they be called heroes if they protected the wicked and rejected the fair?

Then, one word took me out of my absorption "Taylor?"

The room was empty but for me and the girl. She was on top of a urine puddle, while the one under me was a touch more… crimson. Observing us, three shapes stood in the hallway.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

Early on, every human being learns that not everyone will like them. Its a fact you can't change, so you just grow accustomed to it. Knowing that, there are still some people you hope to become friends with. Miss Militia was one of those people for me. She was feared by most gangsters in the city while law-abiding citizens loved her, though not everyone did it exactly because of her kindness… perverts. Anyway, my point is that she was the perfect example of the so called 'good guys'. When such a person shoots you in the face with a freaking high caliber sniper rifle, your hopes of friendship between the both of you tends to totter.

From my lying position on the floor, I saw how the remains of my left hemisphere slid down the wall. It was a disturbing sight, even without my glasses, the ones I suddenly noticed I wasn't wearing. I played dead for a while, not wanting to be shot again, while the pained scream of my father echoed through the hospital and Armsmaster carefully approached me. Poking my ribs with his halberd, he said. "He seems dead. You over did it Militia." He fell for my ruse.

While still aiming at me, her signature weapon switched into a machine-gun. "Keep your distance. It's still alive. That wound should be pouring blood at a higher rate, not to say that the way it fell was unnatural. You can stop your charade now monster. I've seen through it."

In an attempt to bring the girl along with me, so I could consume her later, I stretched my right arm in her general direction while switching into a standing position. I then realized something was wrong. My arm was thicker, my forearm was hairy and I was wearing a red wristband. Not that it lasted, since the sustained fire I was object of uprooted it before I could reach my target.

I felt death cold grasp closer than ever. Deeming the attack I was under harmful and unhealthy, I got away as fast as I could using the only means I had. I jumped through the blood covered window of the cafeteria, hoping for my body to resist the fall. I was sure it would hurt me at a minimum, but I didn't sustain any further damage. Not allowing myself to lose a single second thinking about it, I stood again as fast as I could and ran away, there would be time for reflection later. At first, I just followed the road, but my appearance was too noteworthy. Its not an everyday thing to see someone as mutilated as I was running around, not to mention that there were kids waiting for the school bus at every bus stop I went by.

As soon as I found a suitable alley, I hid into it. There was a large almost empty dustbin, which I used as a hiding place. Once inside, I waited for a while, letting my body recover. My arm was almost totally regrowth by then, but I was still missing an eye. I was definitely a regenerator, maybe a brute or a shifter, something I was glad for. Checking on my arm and other injuries as they recovered, I realized how many times it had already kicked in with me being none the wiser. Had I been given another power… I didn't really wanted to think about that possibility. There were also those human eating tendrils and the fact that I was a boy at the time. While I was freaking about my appearance, I saw how those tendrils covered me for half a second, switching me back into my real body, completely restoring my head and my still missing hand at the same time. Definitely, I was awesome. If I was able to recover from something like that, I should probably be able to heal any damage I ever suffered.

Eventually, the sirens I could hear went out, meaning they were no longer actively tracking me. If I was really going to be a hero, I should test the capabilities and limits of my powers, but how to do that without drawing any attention? After spinning the matter around for a while unsuccessfully, I put it aside, coming to realize that what I really needed wasn't a place where I could test my powers, but somewhere to hide in. There were plenty of places in the Bay to hide. I could have hid in the graveyard with the beggars, but they would probably out me the second a bounty were placed. I could have also used any of the abandoned buildings within the old industrial zone, but there were security guards I'll be forced to deal with. Dam, I could even set my hiding place within the sewage system. The problem with all those places was that they would look for me there in the first place. But what if I hid myself at plain sight? I could apparently switch my appearance to match the one of those I consume. Giving it a try just to be sure, I confirmed it. I was in short supply of them, only three, none of them really usable for long, but I could probably use one of the boys' to approach other members safely if I got there before voice about their dead spread around. Since they were Asians, I headed to the docks.

Days since infection: 2

It was late night when I reached my destination. I originally intended to take the bus, but the lack of money made me do it the hard way. The reward for my long walk was disappointing, even if I knew beforehand it would be. The building I stood in front of was an old warehouse claimed by some homeless Asians, but none of its inhabitants cared about its shape. Half of the windows were covered with planks, and the other half's window panes had such an amount of dust over them that were mostly opaque.

As I approached to the main entrance, a pair of guys whose names I didn't knew made me a signal to get inside. Since that was already my intention, I did so. Its insides weren't as bad I remembered, probably because of the guy giving a speech.

Lung was on top of an improvised podium, made out of wooden boxes and tables. He was talking about the merchants and how they were hitting on our community. We were supposed to do something about it, but I didn't paid him much attention. Instead, I headed for the stairs.

I was already laying in ''my'' bed when a guy came calling for me. "Hey, wake up. Why didn't you stayed? His speeches are so inspiring. We have been assigned a task, so you better hurry." noticing that the bed next to mine was empty, he asked "Where's Nozomi? Meh, who cares, he's always too noisy for this stuff… you getting up or what? Everyone else is already waiting."

He was going down the stairs when I got to my feet. It wasn't my day. I was part of one of the groups which lung assigned to recovery missions. It was actually more like breaking in someone's else stash and stealing anything not nailed to the ground, but making look it more than it was and all that was good for the moral.

As soon as I got with the others, we departed.

The place we were supposed to from was in an even more deplorable state that the one we were living in. Stealthily, we approached one of its doors, and got inside. There were some guards, and we weren't that skilled with the stealth thing, but they were too high to notice us.

I was actually pondering whether I should assimilate them or not. On one hand, they were all horrible people. On the other, it would be weird to come back from a mission unharmed but alone. Choosing to play out my part, I aided them to carry the money out.

We were about to leave when an idea came to my mind. Wont it be hilarious to let behind some proof so they could guess it was all the doing of the ABB? There was no way it wouldn't, so I left behind my wristbands. I could just grow some new ones later.

I did the same on a few more of places we hit that night, but I had to take a snack or two during them. Matter had to come from somewhere after all.

Days since infection: 3

I woke up sweating, the nightmare still fresh in my mind. It was already midday, but I was still feeling sleepy. I was almost the only one there, so I got to the alley behind the building. I had to test the limits of my powers, and I got an idea about them from the dream.

The alley behind the warehouse was quite swamped with litter, but that was good. It made me hard to see from the main street.

I begun with my shape-shifting capabilities. Focusing on my real self, my body swapped from one appearance to the other easily enough. Changing back was but a simple task, but changing into the school's guard required some actual effort. After some swaps back and forth, I realised that my real shape and the one from the last guy I consumed were the ones that took less effort, though I could use the others too. Creating, on the other hand, was way harder. I could made small focused changes if I concentrated hard enough, but it was tiring.

Leaving it for latter, I switched into a strength test. Others weren't as stronger as me, but how wide was the actual difference was an unknown to me. I was about to punch an empty box when a rat came out of it, scaring the shit out of me, metaphorically. As per reflex, I jumped away from it, founding myself almost at the level of the roof for a second before I felt.

For I while I observed the wall in front of me. Having just made a jump high enough to go reach the roof of a two story building was quite beyond what I was expecting, but it brought me new possibilities. Readying myself, I jumped again.

Once on the rooftop, I enjoyed the views. The sea was visible from there, as where some of the hills that circled the city. From there, I would be able go almost anywhere on the city, if I was able to effectively jump from one roof to the next, unnoticed, since most people rarely look up. Besides, it was a safe enough place to practice so long as I was quiet enough.

After a few minutes, I remembered about my teleportation and how I was supposed to be testing my powers. According to my dreams, it was a matter of will, so I gave it a try. Standing still in the middle of the roof, I focused on going forward.

Since I was still in the same spot after fifteen minutes, I decided that I was missing something, so I kept trying my other abilities.

That night, I dodged them and when out to patrol the same way rogues did, but I stuck to the ground level. Jumping from one building to the next was trickier than I thought, and the landing spot was usually fractured or simply smashed.

Nights were quite active in the docks at night, so I stayed close to them. Besides, I was posing as an ABB member, so most of the gangsters around would just ignore me.

I was about to go back when I heard some shouts. Thinking it was worth checking, I got to a nearby rooftop for stealth's sake and gave it a try. Taking a little run, I jumped forward, successfully landing where I was intending to. As I rested my weight on the roof, it broke apart and I felt. I was planning to stick to ground level anyway. The fall was exaggeratedly loud, glass and wood shattering equally, but the people in the street pretty much ignored it.

Getting to one of the most transparent windows, I observed them from the shadows. A bunch of Asian girls were beating the crap out of some guys in rags. In order to avoid such a mistreatment, I got outside of the building silently and, when I was behind the girls, I brutally killed and consumed them all. Though maybe not in that order.

The last one I feed onto had a better place to stay at that me, so I headed there when I was done killing the guys laying on the floor. They were selling drugs after all, and that was a crime. Since I was already full, I restrained from consuming them, they made me feel dizzy for a while after all, and their contribution to my knowledge was counterproductive at best.

Days since infection: 5

After a few days posing as a Korean teenager, I was more or less familiarized with my power set. I was fast, strong, durable, and able to switch my appearance on the fly, but my regeneration capacity was the most remarkable of my abilities. I was also making some improvements with my ability to control the tendrils and I was working on changing my right arm into something quite like a spear, but my skill with them both was still questionable, and the shape I was able to morph it into was still wrong.

I was relaxing in the tub when my sister, Hyo, knocked on the bathroom door. "Eonni! Shopping trip! u coming?"

I had nothing to do until Monday, so I joined her. She was a nice enough girl to be with, not like her older sister, who I was at the time, and was trying to find a way out of the gang. I was going to let her live, and I was making sure that her last days with her sister were happier than the ones I could recall.

A bunch of other girls from the apartment joined us, all of them full members of the gang, while other just asked us for some medicaments. We were out of Fortasec, and almost every single one of my roomies needed it desperately. It was actually one more reason to love my regeneration. Apparently, it allowed me to ignore those mundane problems.

When we were already halfway there, we saw a bus approaching to a nearby stop, so we hastened our pace slightly, just enough to be able to catch it. Once inside, I was gratefully surprised. There was only a few passengers in there, but one of them was a very important person to me.

The girl from the hospital was with another two, though I didn't recognized them. Leading my group, I sat next to them, giving myself the opportunity to peek into their conversation. They were whispering, but my hearing was good enough to pick the most relevant details. She was called Madison. The one speaking the most was a dark skinned skinny girl called Sophia. The third girl in the group had a somewhat sad expression and barely spoke during our journey. Her name was Emma. I didn't knew why, but it ringed a bell. They were heading to the cinema, so I convinced my group to follow them there. At first, they opposed to the idea but, when I said I had some unfinished business with one of the girls, they eagerly accepted to change our plans. Idiotic violence lovers.

The plan I had in mind wasn't a complex one, since there was no need for that. They were going to bump into them, starting an argument, and I would drag Madison away while the others were distracted. Then, once we were alone, I would take care of her.

When the bus reached the right stop, we all got out. We were about to do it when Sophia's cell rang. Checking on it, she excused herself to her friends and left, running into an alley.

Since we were already on it, the girls stuck to the plan. Circling around Emma, they began an argument, leaving Madison outside. People from the street approached to check on them, so I took my opportunity and dragged her into a more secluded place. Pushing her into the toilets of a nearby store, I placed my index finger over my grinning mouth and winked, indicating her to stay quiet.

Her confusion was evident. I had never shown any interest in her before, nor had I abused of her in any way. She knew I was a member of the ABB, something easy to realize given my attire, but everyone knew we usually behave while in crowded places. "What are you doing! Let me go or I'll scream!"

Since she wasn't willing to cooperate, something understandable, I pressed my left hand over her mouth, preventing any further noise. Then, I slowly switched into my real form. "shhhh. When you play, you gotta pay."


	4. Chapter 4

She was on her own and surrounded by seven older girls. Not knowing why, she attempted to escape a few times. The girls were accusing her of something, given their body language and the fact that they wouldn't allow her to leave. Since they were talking in Korean, she never realized that they weren't even talking with her, but chatting about their own stuff while buying some time for their friend.

There was no way she would allow someone to bully her. She was strong, she was a survivor, and survivors never surrender. On her final attempt, she pushed her way through them, Knocking down the tallest one of her assailants.

As soon as she got out, she saw Madison crying while on her way out of a shop.

The Korean girls caught a glimpse of her too and, against all reason, they didn't surrounded her again. The gangsters just ignored her, running into said shop, though the one who fell elbowed Emma when she passed by her.

Running up to her... I mean me, she asked "Are you okay? What happened? Did someone hurt you? Come, we will call the police!"

"No, its nothing, lets just.. lets just leave this place. I have something important to tell you, something that can't wait." Taking her hand, I was about to ran away from there when she spoke.

"Wait, there's a really nice tea house over there. We can relax there until Sophia comes back."

"Can't we go somewhere more private? What we have to talk about is delicate, and I would rather not be around here for too long."

"My parents ain't at home, we can chat there. Is that private enough?" She knew there was something going on. My sudden request for privacy was somewhat unexpected. I was many things, but cautious wasn't one of them.

"It would do. Lets hurry, please."

I did my best to drag her out of there as soon as possible, however, just as we got to the first junction, a chorus of screams was heard. Fate can be a bitch. Most of the times, it seems to be plotting against you. However, before anyone could even do anything about those screams, the Endbringer sirens rang all across the city. Its true that you can't call that luck somewhere we you could be heard but, between us, it was. Had it not been that way… I don't know what could have happened.

While people around us went mad, running around like headless chickens, Emma took her phone out. Keeping her cool, she said while texting. "Don't worry, I'll send a message to our parents telling them we are together and fine." She knew we were supposed to go to the nearest underground shelter and, once there, we wont be able to make any call. After she was done telling them where we were heading, and promising them we would be careful, we made a run for it.

It was hard to run without bumping into someone, but we managed to get there without much problems. The huge gates were wide open, a dozen of heavy armored soldiers guarding them. They were checking everyone with what looked like a tinker-made metal detector, apparently made for a carnival, given how many of those multicolored lights they had.

It was something weird to do at such a time. Most people would be either too scared or clever enough to do something stupid while in there. Besides, for those who weren't, there was supposed to be enforcers alongside us.

People was rapidly getting nervous with the constant rang of the sirens. Being stuck right in front of safety, but unable to reach it, was nerve breaking. We, on our part, remained calm. Emma was holding my hand, trying to comfort me while easing herself at the same time.

Battery and Assault were also there, probably to make people feel safer, though they themselves were tense. We could hear Assault speak through a megaphone from time to time, but there was too much noise to be able to understand what he was saying. Knowing him, he was probably just making some bad jokes in an attempt to get people to calm down a bit.

People was fainting and kids were crying, thought the one next to us was just clinging to his mother. He was in pain, but her mother was petting him, keeping him calm. Some retarded even tried to start a fight but, unexpectedly, the soldiers were doing their job for once, assisting the civilians with every issue. It was noticeably weird how they scanned everyone before lending a hand, but still.

After a while, some PRT trucks arrived. Every now and then, people would be take out of the entrance and dragged into them. Probably the ones carrying weapons since most of them were carrying the colors of the ABB or appeared to be members of the merchants.

Since we were almost there, after almost an hour waiting, everything went to hell. The nearby boy suddenly throw up, something quite not uncommon given the situation, but his vomit was mixed with blood. Her mother cried for help and one of the soldiers approached, but not before calling for the others attention. Taking out his long disco stick, he moved it over the little boy. As everyone nearby enough could see, every single light on it turned red.

Taking a few steps back, he let it fall. Raising his rifle, he aimed for the boy. Then, without a word, he discharged it in front of her horrified mother and the disbelieving crowd.

Such an action, as simple as pressing a trigger, obviously wasn't the wisest thing to do. You could say someone fucked it up somewhere along the command chain, but they were scared, and time was of essence. They were aiming for faster and safer rather than clever.

A low murmur expanded as a wave, leaving only silence behind. For what seemed like an eternity, everyone stood frozen. Then, the sirens reminded us to breath again and, as one, the crowd moved into the vault. Some of the guards were swept along while those who tried to stop it were crushed under an endless sea of legs. That's when we got separated.

She was pushed to the stairs' side while I was dragged next to the elevators. The vault's main hall was at roughly three or four storeys of depth, but the journey there was unsettling. Barely able to touch the stairs by herself, she was mostly carried along. On one hand, it wasn't that tiring to be carried by others while suspended in midair, on the other, someone was groping her ass. But the importance of that paled in comparison to the fact that worried her the most; her friend was nowhere to be seen. Had she been able to hold her hand stronger... The only thing she could do was to put up with it all until she reached the last floor, hopping for Madison to be okay. The elevators would probably be safer than the stairs anyway. As soon as she was allowed to walk on her own again, she was going to find the lift's way out.

As the lift doors opened, people flowed in. Their insides where huge, probably capable to hold almost thirty persons. Hoping they were designed to be used safely during emergencies, I got inside. It would have been easy to walk through the multitude using my raw strength, but that wasn't how I did things, that wasn't who I was. I had to find Emma, but I'd do it without harming anyone.

As I stepped into the elevator, a high pitched beep was heard, letting us know that it was already over its maximum load capacity. Ignoring it, people kept getting inside. Who cares about safety, right? When we where closer to been sardines in a tin than to been humans, the lift doors closed. Our path to the underground facility began but, after a couple of meters, something broke. For less than a second, we experimented free fall. Luckily, the brakes kicked in, keeping the whole thing together.

There we were, roughly over fifty persons squeezing together within an elevator designed for thirty if the sign above the doors was right. I felt the air thickens, though there were vents in the elevator car. After five minutes or so, some were hyperventilating, but most were sweating heavily. I tried to squeeze through them, but the pained moans made me stop. It was hard to tell when I was pushing too hard and there wasn't much free space to begin with.

"We must get out of here! Help me reach that trap door over there." a young man suggested. "Maybe some of us could climb to the top. That way we may be able to open the previous floor door and help the others out."

"Are there even other doors?" Was the contribution of an old lady. "This elevator only have one button. You really expect it to have random doors along the… cough..cough… lift shaft?" She was obviously having a bad time. I could have swore she were worst each time I glanced in her direction."What we shall..."

"Shut up granny." A muscular guy with an eighty eight tattooed on his cheek interrupted her. "He's right. We will be better with a few of us up there, even if there's no way out. At least we'll be able to breath. We should get the kids up first. That way the others will be able to move with some degree of freedom."

He was being a dick, but a reasonable one. Getting the kids up would be easier. They were lighter, so we could lift them over the rest of us. They were also the ones in the worst situation. Being hard for an adult to breath, kids were probably having a hell of a time to do it. Helping himself with the cane of an old man, a Japanese under the trap door pushed it open. Four kids were then slowly aided on their way there, though one was crying outside because of the height. Handing them a phone with its lamp on, they checked the outer walls. The other ones were still working, good news indeed, but there weren't any doors beyond the ones at the top and the bottom.

It was all shiny and good, we had slightly more room to breath, but there was a little miscalculation in their maths. Apparently, I was one of them. "Girl! You are the next one. Try to climb on the people surrounding you and we will help you out." It was true that I was young, I wasn't sixteen yet, but I had some serious doubts about their capability to lift me anytime soon.

Not being able to come up with a convincing excuse, I just said."I'm not sure about that, I'm heavier than I look."

Looking me harshly, the skin head said "Bullshit! Those kids did it, you can do it too. Now… bluahhh." As if coming from a geyser, an auburn liquid sprung from his mouth, soaking those directly in front of him. Thinking about it, those were probably his last words. Speaking with a mouth full of vomit is quite a feat.

After that, I almost changed my mind about climbing onto everyone and getting out of there. Those with it on their jackets of sweaters were trying to take them away while the others were all trying to get some distance between him and them, squashing each other even harder, though there was no room left to do it.

While he was still holding our full attention, one of the kids screamed. "Dear what's wrong!?" her mother shouted back. There was no response from her part. Mostly because, before the woman was even done shouting, all of them were already screaming.

They were kids, it was worth risking outing myself if I could save them. If I was able to save just one of them, it would be worth it.

As I got ready, those around me joined the screaming party.


	5. Chapter 5

It was understandable. If you are locked with someone in a tight space, and said someone begins to sprouts tentacles out of her arm, you have the right to have a panic attack. "Everyone, please, calm down. I'm just going to go and check on the kids. No one is going to be hurt. Oh, and, if anyone have any antihistamine, give one to that guy." Realizing I was a para-human, they calmed down a tad.

As my arm twisted into a tangled mass of tentacles, while my hand morphed into four pointy sharpened blades, the voices from some of the kids began to sound distant. They were moving down, probably to a certain death, so I hurried and threw my weapon through the trap's door aperture. It was true that my attempt at creating a long heavy weapon were unsuccessful, but what I came instead up with had its own uses. As the blades of my whipfist penetrated the concrete wall's surface, I twisted their tips, giving me a good enough anchor point. While the anchor was still being reinforced with thin threads that spread further into the material, I contracted my arm, pulling me to the outside.

Letting the wall go, I allowed my feet to lay on the flooded surface. There was a mixture of blood, porridge, and bits of cookies inundating the top of the car. There was also one girl curled in a corner shivering slightly, but I paid her no real attention. The falling kids were the ones that were more desperately in need of aid, so I approached to the border as fast as I could ready to help them.

I was about to jump in a desperate attempt to grab them while still in the air, but I realized in time what was really happening. They were still screaming, but only because they were scared kids. They fell of the border but, luckily enough, they did it just to fall on top of a nearby elevator's car roof which were going down. Even if they were apparently bleeding slightly, the passengers from that one were actually trying to help them to get inside. They would be fine once the elevator reached the bottom floor.

Remembering that the girl behind me still needed some help, I turned around. As if timed, I did it just in time to see how the one who were shaking a few seconds ago pounced at me. Her eyes were bloodshot, carrying a savage look in them. The hit itself wasn't that hard, but she surprised me and made me lose my balance. Since she wasn't strong enough, probably because she was most likely under ten, her grip on me faltered as soon as my whole weight came into play. As soon as I began to fall, she retreated from the border.

During my short fall, I tried to grab the elevator car with my bladed hand, but my reaction time wasn't fast enough. As the tips were about to touch its floor, I crashed with the one still descending. My back collided with the closest vertex of the car, squashing the metallic structure and giving it a new shape that resembled a twisted human. I fell for a bit longer, since the floor was still some meters away, but the lift got stuck where it was.

As I got back on my feet again, I noticed it for the first time. There was some smoke slipping in through the elevator outer gates and into the lift's shaft. Being made aware of the reason for the heavy atmosphere in there, I found myself with three matters at hands. There were screams coming from the elevator I came out of, people calling for help inside of the one I broke during my fall, and smoke coming out of the room where thousands of people were seeking to refuge in. Truth be told, there was actually a fourth thing that worried me, but there was no way I could be of help during an Endbringer attack.

Recovering the full form of my disguised self, I chose to help first the ones who were most likely trapped within a fire. The ones within the elevators were safe enough. Anyway, being a bit dirty never killed anyone.

Taking a firm hold on the gates, I began to open them slowly, fearing for the worst. So much people, trapped within an underground vault which was on fire? People do die because of that.

As the began to split, the voice reached me. "...to. There was no other way. Now, you can accept it and collaborate with us, or you choose to be a pain in the ass and get yourself cuffed somewhere. Your choice." there was a soldier next to the door, diving some kind of speech. When I saw where the smoke was coming from, I felt a bit ashamed. There was a heavy smoke cloud forming out of cigars that people were smoking. Apparently no one cared about the fact that they were within an enclosed space.

Since I was already opening it, I kept going. I could use some help to rescue those still in the elevators anyway. "Help!" I shouted.

As they heard me, some approached to give me a hand but, before that, one of them approached his detector to me. "STAY WHERE YOU ARE!" he shouted as it's lights glowed red. When their rifles aiming at me, he added. "What stage are you in?"

Clueless, I answered "If you mean state, I'll say I'm pretty well. But there are people on the elevators who need assistance. Those in that car over there only need help to get down here, but there are some people sick in the one still next to the top."

After scanning me for a while, he gave a signal to one of the others. As he was speaking again, the other soldier left. "What state are those in the higher car?"

"A man vomited a while ago and there is a little girl who is acting weird. I think she vomited too. The others are mostly having problems..."

"It doesn't matter." he interrupted me. "Johns. Garcia. Take her to the vans before they leave. Then close the gates and come back immediately. We will take care of any new case from here on."

"What!? Why!?" I replied back.

"You better cooperate with us. We are doing this because you are still at an early stage, but we don't have to." Turning to the pair of soldiers he added "If she resist, you know what to do. Your own safety goes first."

The other soldiers spread, seeping through the civilians, while the couple with me took their positions on my back. "Walk, we are running out of time." That said, the pressed one barrel onto my back, probably trying to reinforce the statement, so I did as instructed.

Passing by, I saw Emma huddle up next to the elevators. She was looking at me, crying. "Can I..." I tried to say, but a blow to my back cut me off. Glaring at him, I made my irritation visible, but kept walking. They were doing their jobs, and something seemed to be wrong with me. Whatever they were, those things weren't metal detectors. During the previous days, I walked throw a bunch of them and none gave me away. There was something else going on, something I was unaware of. Had I heard the whole speech...

We were climbing the stairs when they shook. I heard the sound of a huge explosion come form within the lift shaft. I tried to turn around, I had to know what was going on, but they were faster than me.

The resounding metallic blast coming from the elevators concealed the echo of the fired weapons. I could feel how each bulled got into my body, the sheer amount making me fall face first.

"Fuck men! How are we going to explain this? You think she's dead? Maybe she's still alive, we could try to save her!" One of them said.

"She was in the first or second stage, of course she is dead. Now, help me drag her out and close the doors, I don't want anymore of those freaks to get inside. We will come up with something afterwards."

Taking one of my hands each, they began to pull me upstairs but, after a few steps, the one who panicked at first complained. "This bitch is heavy, can't we just leave her here and light her corpse on fire?"

Giving him a rap on the head with his free hand, most likely to make a point given how armored both were, he answered "And who's going to explain it to the captain once he notices it? We take her out and she's no longer our problem. The vans have probably left by now or, if not, we can wait for a couple of minutes until they do. Then, we say she entered the fourth stage and we were forced to shot her down. Furthermore, if it will make you feel better, we can burn her to ashes to make sure no one can make a proper autopsy."

"That makes sense dude, glad I was paired with you."

I had no idea what they were talking about, but I wasn't going to let the part concerning me to happen. They shot me down because they got scared, and were planning to cover it up as some kind of self defense incident. They were scum, and were going to throw me outside of the bunker and set me on fire just to save their butts.

Letting my regeneration kick in, I reversed the grip they had on me. With their respective left and right hand under my firm grip and, before they were able to shoot at me again with their free ones, I brought them down. Rolling down the stairs flight, we crashed in the previous landing. Unharmed, I got to my feet, but they weren't that fortunate. Even with all the protections they carried, my weight alone was more than enough to break some of their bones.

They were whining as if it were the first time they ever got injured. Too much to ask from shitty kid murderers I guess. Taking one of them in my hand, I rose him until he was at my eye level, the protective layers bending under my raw strength. I felt the urge to just consume him and gain whatever knowledge he had about… well, everything. But I was done with all the cold-blood murder play. A piece of the puzzle that my mind was, was back, and that was who I wanted to be, the one my parents raised to be, even if there were still too many holes in it to get the whole picture.

With my free hand, I tore his helmet of, making the moorings break apart. A few shards from them spread in all directions, making him some cuts along the face. He was the one to came up with the plan if I was right. Probably a couple of years older than me, but with plenty of scars to prove his adventures, whatever they might be. "What is going on?" I asked him with a hard expression on my face, hopping for the sheer fear I felt in him to do the rest.

"Please! Don't touch me! I don't want to die! Please!" he begged, while weakly trying set himself free from my hold. His useless attempt brought back memories that weren't mine, but I gave my best keep my mind clear, focusing on the lack of useful information in his statement.

I wasn't sure why he was that scared. Well, besides the whole part about being hold by the girl he had just tried to kill while his limbs were crippled. "If you cooperate, I may be lenient. Its up to you. Now, once again. What. Is. Going. On."


	6. Chapter 6

"The city has been quarantined! There is… there is a disease that spreads through blood and water. Once you get infected, the side effects will manifest in a few hours, depending on how old you are. The younger you are, the faster the effects appears. Please, if you touch me I'll be infected, and there is no cure! I don't want to die! Please! I… I was just doing my work!" After a second, he added "My companion was the one to shoot his weapon first! And his rank is higher than mine, he surely knows more about it!" I might have bought it, had he not been explaining how to turn me into ashes a few minutes ago.

A small part of me felt guilty about it all, but I had to know what was going on to be able to act accordingly. Luckily for him, that part of me was also the one preventing me from just consume such a disgusting example of a human being and save time. "What side effect are you talking about? And how do you know I've been infected? I feel perfectly fine."

"I'm unaware of the details behind it, but the disease change something within its host, and our detectors can identify the carriers a few hours after the initial infection. When it reach stage two, you manifest an ever increasing diarrhea. After a couple of days, you begin to throw up and, at that point, you are already capable to spread it. Something as simple as getting scratched by one of them is enough to be infected, so we have orders to eliminate them on sight. A few hours later, stage four manifest, though kids reach that point in seconds, minutes at best. Once there, you become a wild beast with a brute rating of two or higher, attacking everyone on sight and spreading a new strain of the virus. That s all I know! I swear! Please let me go! Maybe my captain knows more! You should go and find him!" given how much he was freaking out, I chose to trust him, even if he was a treacherous rat. He was profusely sweating, trying to have his face as far away as he could from me. I was apparently infected, so it made sense. The other was trying to crawl away but, with just one of his arms able to perform any movement, his chances to get anywhere were nil.

With new questions arising within my mind during his explanation, I blatantly ignored his pleads and kept asking "If only those in stage three are contagious, why are you that scared of me?"

"We were wrong! You survived after taking two whole magazines head on? With anti-brute ammunition? You must be dangerously close to the last stage, the symptoms can vary slightly from one case to another. Each one is a different strain after all. Now, please, that's all I know, I swear! Just let me go please! I wont get in you way!"

A foul smell was reaching me, but I endured it, there was no need to make him feel any worse. "I'm a parahuman, and a regenerator at that. That's why I survived your foolishness and, as far as I know, I'm immune to any disease. I could even be clear by now."

"Oh fuck no! Let me go! You must leave now or everyone here is as good as dead! Regenerators made it worse! We were told to ask for support from the PRT and protectorate if we were forced to engage with one! Please just... Please! I've got kids! Five! Think about them! Please!"

There wasn't that many regenerators in the city that I knew of. Aegis and Lung were both well known, but I had the feeling that, if the infection reached Lung, somehow, I would have noticed even down there. Aegis would also be problematic, but in a wholly different way. He was possibly immortal, adding even more power to that would probably make him almost impossible to dealt with.

Letting him go, mostly because the stench was beginning to make me feel almost as sick as his pathetic excuses, I heard something snap and some more moans coming from him. I was in need of a new disguise, so I switched back into Ae-cha's appearance. If I was going to die soon, I was running on borrowed time, and I still had to find the answers I sought. Leaving them there, I began my descent back into the vault, thinking about a way to get inside and locate Emma without been checked.

I was almost there, when I came to a stop. What was I doing? If what he said was true, and I was pretty sure it was, was it worth risking the lives of so many just to satisfy my curiosity? Was I already contagious? There was no way for me to know when I got infected. It could have been in the elevator, or I could have been spreading it for days after consuming a carrier unknowingly. I didn't felt the need to… lose some weight since I triggered, and that made it impossible for me to notice the second stage at all. Had I spread it to those around me during the last days? And, if so, was I fine with it? I would like to say I wasn't, but a tiny part of me was almost glad about it, so I took a firm resolution.

Turning on my heels, I switched into my real self. It kind of felt weird, been myself again after so long. For the first time in what looked like ages, I saw my curly hair resting on my shoulders, though it had a more reddish touch to it than I remembered. Given how the complex was illuminated, I attributed it to them reflection from the halogen lights.

As I was walking by the unconscious soldiers, I stood next to the one with his gear still intact and took his detector. There was just one button in the handle, making them easy enough to use. Pressing the button, I tested it on them. Accordingly to it, they were clear, so I approached it to me. When all the lights went red, I felt a shiver ran through my spine. I was still infected and, acknowledging what the soldier said, my regeneration was probably speeding up the whole process.

While still standing there, something else came to my mind. If there were PRT vans out there, PRT agents would be alongside them. I was in need of a way to avoid them or, at least, be able to pass unnoticed. Analyzing the man at my feet, I noticed that he was only slightly bigger than me.

Once on the surface, I saw the elevator doors. They were dented, with dense smoke flowing out of them. Approaching the remains of the ones I used, I pried them loose. Through the shaft, I was able to see both cars at the bottom. The one I fell on top of was damaged, but in one piece and aligned with the ones which were already empty when I was down there. The other… had seen better times. Flames were wrapped around the mess it had turned into, while the smoke carried the stink of burned flesh. There were some crack in the walls, encircling the holes left by missing concrete chunks, most likely the after-effect of an explosion, and scratches all along the way down to the bottom, that were probably made by the car during its fall. The bastards blew it up to kill the infected, sacrificing those still sane. I felt the urge to get down there and make them accountable for their crimes but, in the end, they were actually saving lots of lives by sacrificing a few.

Leaving the reproachable scene behind, I walked my way back to the gates.

The sirens were barely audible, probably just a reminder in case someone were still outside. There was just one van left, a few corpses escorting it. A couple of soldiers and civilians were also laying in the ground, probably the after match of the stampede I was a part of a while ago.

I was approaching to the PRT agents, which were laying next to the vehicle, to check on them when a noise called for my attention. Heavy breathings could be heard inside of the van if you stuck your ear to its walls. There was someone inside of the van, survivors if they were lucky. "Hello? Can you hear me?" the only response my question got was a heavy bang that bended the walls outwards. Taking out the detector, I pressed it to the wall, talking again. A few more dents appeared on it, one of them close enough for it to detect its presence for a second. Someone was inside, but was already lost to the disease. Was it better to leave them inside, where no one could be hurt? Or were they suffering, trapped within their own bodies?

Leaving them for later consideration, I prioritized the agents in case they were still alive. I found teeth marks on their armors, some of them deep enough to reach their flesh. Both also had a whole in their helmet's visors, clearly visible once I turned them around. Probably the result of a point-blank shoot. I left them be, sparing me the sight. Whatever did that to them, could still be around, so I did what I should have the second I got outside.

Having no idea on how the vault was supposed to be closed I began to search, there had to be some way to do it from the entrance. When I finally found the lock-down mechanism next to the gates, something that took me embarrassingly too long given how obvious its location was, or how red the whole thing was, I activated it. At once, half a dozen of heavy looking thick doors began to slid down from the ceiling of the tunnel, giving me enough time to roll my way to the outside again, ultimately sealing the vault with a vacuum alike sound when the outside door closed too. Those inside would probably be safe until everything returned to normalcy in a few days, something I wont be able to see if no cure was found.

I resolved to commit myself to help in any possible way I could until my very end, but I had no idea on where to begin, nor how. I wont be able to safely interact with the sane but, was I capable to fight the infected? I had no idea what a brute rating of two meant, and there was only one way to find it out, one that presented to me on its own, safely packed within a metal container. If I was about to bring my own fall because of it, so be it, at least I would be able to say I tried.

Looking for the keys, I found an embed communication system within the cabin, so I switch it on hopping for some good news. "bzzz..o, Delta. Reporting in. Containing measures completed in sectors alpha and beta, waiting for..." I hurriedly switched it of. The ones inside of the cargo compartment were attracted by the sounds of the radio, and I would rather not be trapped in there while fighting them. At least I heard enough to know that they were doing something about it all, and doing some actual progress. It was getting late. Soon, the sunset would fall on us, and the night was definitely not the best of allies when fighting within a city, where anyone could either be a helpless civilian or an enraged monster.

After searching for a while longer, I found the keys in the pocket of one of the agents. As an additional precaution measure, I checked them again, searching for vitals signs or signs of infection. Better safe than sorry. Once I was sure that they wouldn't stand at some point and attack me, I approached the van's back door.

While sliding the keys inside of the back door's lock, I took a deep breath, trying to cast my fears away. Twirling them around, the lock clicked, allowing the double-leaf door to unfold, showing me its contents.


	7. Chapter 7

While staring at the couple of infected guys standing inside of the van, their bloodshot eyes looked at me. Their clothes were tainted with an amalgam of different substances, most of them red, but it didn't seem to bother them at all. Under them, a mass of broken bodies spoke of the fate of those trapped inside, whole bodies and broken limbs still chained to the bars circling its inner space. One of them just stood where he was, enthusiastically chewing someone's arm. The other turned in my direction, seeing me as a better prey, or something, I don't really know. Aggressively pouncing on me, he knocked me down.

Being barely more than a mad beast, his attempt at carving me up were ineffective. I could feel the strikes, but they were little more than soft taps over my skin. The extra layers of protection were paying out. His bites, on the other side, were able to bend the armor, applying an almost hurting pressure on my shoulder. With a heavy strike to the face, I shoved him away, some of his teeth left behind, stuck in my shoulder pad. Confident of my superiority, I got onto my feet and I lifted him from the neck. He was light and, his attempts at freeing from my hold, pathetic. Targeting the guy still feeding himself peacefully, I threw the one I was holding with my whole strength in an attempt to kill one with the other. Yes, I was enjoying my own superiority. Who are you to judge me?

When the bodies collided, bones were broken and heads crushed. I was so proud of myself. Surely, I would be able handle them easily, even if assaulted by dozens of them at once. I was so euphoric knowing that the quarantine was going to be shorter thanks to me. Or so I thought, the feeling lasting for just a second.

From far away, the scene didn't pass unnoticed. "There is a soldier over there." Miss Militia told to the pilot while looking through her scope. "The area is clear, but the rest of his unit seems down. Be ready to perform an extraction."

As the helicopter was approaching, the soldier they were going to rescue stood, looking at something in his hand. Not noticing them, he got to the rear doors of the vehicle. After hesitating for a second, the doors were opened.

Unexpectedly, someone pounced on top of said soldier. Hitting, biting and scratching at him. She was about to shoot it down but, even while unarmed, his retaliation was considerable. Hitting the being's face with his gauntleted fist, he managed to take it off of him. Rapidly raising to a standing position, and taking advantage of his new position over the assailant, he grabbed it by its neck, just to throw it into the van again.

Those watching it from the aircraft were impressed by the performance of the soldier. To handle an infected single-handedly was an impressive feat.

"Something is wrong, get your weapons ready." Miss militia commanded when she noticed how the soldier was keeping his guard up. There was something else inside of the van.

When they were almost there, a bulky humanoid tore his way out of the van. With just one blow, it sent the soldier flying for almost a yard. The arm he tried to use as a shield, clearly breaking under the overwhelming pressure he was subjected to.

For an instant, her weapon became blurred, reshaping itself as a bigger version of what it previously was. Aiming for a bit while judging the ongoing events and, only when she was sure that the bullet would find its intended target, she pulled the trigger. A thunder alike sound resounded through the sky.

With my arm broken after just one hit, I realized how fucked up I was. I was hoping for the borrowed armor to aid me as both, an extra layer of protection and an effective disguise, though the former seemed ineffective against that guy. It was more than seven feet tall, with ragged bloody pink cloths barely capable to hide its overgrown muscles. I was so happy about how easily I finished the other infected that I didn't noticed it laying inside of the van, under the other little one, until it was too late. I should have just crush the one I was holding with my hands, instead of using him as a throwing weapon against the other. At least, there was just one left, even if he was probably out of my league.

Drawing the pistol out of its holster, I stood, aiming it at him. Even if it was the first time I held a gun myself, I was already quite experienced in their use. Trying to shoot him in the eyes, I emptied its magazine.

Firing a weapon while running was hard, doing it with a broken arm sending burst of pain with every movement was harder, but I managed to hit him a couples of times. Not that it made any actual difference when he caught up with me. The slap I got from his hulking arm felt as if a lorry had just crashed with me.

When I was about to rise again after my not so gracious flight, ready to fight him, his head shattered into a thousand bloody fragments and his body fell to the ground, motionless. As I looked upwards, a really loud bang was heard. It came from an approaching helicopter, no further away than half a mile. There was no way for me to run away.

There were no more shoots, so I assumed my armor was at least a good enough disguise. By the time the landed and some PRT agents got out of it, I was already resting against the vault gates. Since I was unsure about what they saw, my arm was already within an improvised splint. Mostly for appearances sake, since I was already completely restored.

"Thanks." I said when they approached me. "Saved my ass there."

"Come with us, we are getting out of here." One of them ordered me while two others offered to lend me a hand.

Refusing their help with a shake of my head, I hobbled behind them back into the helicopter. To my surprise, Miss militia was inside, eyeing me while the dark fog in her lap constantly switched from one shape to another. When we were all safely sat and the sliding doors closed, the pilot took us into the air.

"Report." the same guy from before said.

Guessing that he was probably talking to me, I made something up. "Sir, when we were done checking the civilians that were already inside, I was sent by our captain to check for any others still outside. If none was there, I was supposed to seal the vault and wait in case any others arrived. When I got there, some soldiers were laying in the ground, so I tried to aid them after closing the doors. I think you saw the rest." I had no real idea about the proper way to do it and, seeing how they were looking at me, I had failed spectacularly.

"You sound… young. Your name private?"

I should have paid some attention to it if I was going to pose as someone else, but I didn't actually thought I would run into them so soon. Besides, I was so good with being others lately, that I didn't actually paid it much attention anyway. There were only two possibilities, so I just said one randomly. "Garcia, Sir!"

He was going to say something, but before he could, Militia made him a signal and spoke. "And what were you doing freeing those monsters Garcia? You have a death wish? If so, there are easier and less painful ways to fulfill it."

I tried to knock something together while looking for a way out of there, just to made some time "I thought there were some civilians trapped and was going to..." but the tip of her new sword tearing throw my chest piece made me stop.

"Last chance, Garcia." Were her words while aiming at me the huge pistol she was carrying in her offhand.

She knew I was lying, so maybe I could do with half truths. "I had to know if I was able to handle an infected one on one. My intention was to go deeper into the city, but I was unsure about how strong they really were."

With an approving nod, she said "That's better. Stupid, but better. Though I have the feeling that there is something more to it." After removing her sword from my chest, she kept going. "We will leave that for later. Now, were did you get that gear? And it better be good." Tapping onto my chest piece with the blade to drag my attention, right under the breach her sword had made, I was allowed to read the name engraved in it: 2LT Johns. So much for a fifty percent chance. Had I consumed him, it would have been a piece of cake to trick them and, for an instant, I regretted it. I truly wanted to be better, more like the me from the past, but it was hard with all the suffering I had seen, even if through the eyes of others.

Being aimed at by four rifles, a pistol and a sword, I thought it would be better to cooperate. "I took it from an unconscious soldier." when her expression hardened, I hurriedly added "His doing! Mostly... I thought it would be a good way to avoid too much attention. And he was safe enough where he was in any case."

She pondered my answer for a while, as if trying to decide if I was saying the whole truth or not. "How did you managed to defeat an infected barehanded? Para-human?" as I nodded, she kept going. "Para-humans ain't allowed at ground level, unless heavy armored or unable to get infected. The soldiers were supposed to told you to remained hidden. These kind of situations are why we encourage the young to join the wards ranks instead of turning into rogues. Had you been with us, we would have been able to inform you directly."

Behind the protective visor of my helmet, my expression was of pure disbelieve. "Are you really trying to recruit me while in this kind of situation? It seems a bit fucked up."

Apologetically, she smiled to me. "Sorry, its the protocol and I have to adhere to it. They will try to recruit you once in the encampment either way. We will leave you there in a while. Once in our provisional headquarters, if you still want to help, we will assign you an appropriate task. And maybe a fitting fresh change of clothes."

They were going to take me out of the quarantined zone? Without even scanning me in case I was infected? It could not be allowed. "No, you cant do that. There's another reason for me to wear this suit." Giving myself a minute to think about what I was about to do, a minute during which she said nothing, I finally made my mind. "I'm infected."

Suddenly, everyone was aiming for my head, but keeping their respective positions. The pilot, the only one without a helmet besides Miss Militia, didn't even batted an eyelid. They were obviously better trained than those soldiers wannabe from before. "You know," Miss Militia said, her sword's tip already rubbing my chest, making a few drops of blood spill. "When you first spoke, I thought that your voice was somewhat familiar to me. Could you please take your helmet off?"

Not really knowing where we were at the time, my inner voice told me that I would be able to run away, so I took it off slowly.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8- Interlude:

"You should have just said that everything was going on as planned. You are wasting your time, and mine." After an uncomfortable silence, one probably intended, she implied one last threat "I better have tonight's report over my desk early in the morning."

As the screen went black, Piggot anxiously rubbed her forehead. Nothing was going on as planed, but she couldn't possibly report that to the chief director of the PRT. Ellisburg's alike incident ain't in anyone's list of things you want to report to your boss. At least, this time, most of the civilians had survive. If only the damned capes were doing their dam jobs properly, even if just for once. Was it too much to ask for? It shouldn't, given how many hundreds of thousands of dollars were invest in their training each year. In spite of that, with all the super powers and technology within their reach, they were unable to locate a single girl. That was beyond pathetic. Were she still able to do fieldwork... but she wasn't, those days were long gone and there was no point in wallowing in her grief.

While trying to organize the last reports from the search teams, he knocked on her door. "Come in. I was waiting for you. Which is the state of the evacuation procedures?"

As instructed, Armsmaster got inside of the prefab hut which was serving as her temporary office. His weight making the floor creak. He was able to hear the whole conversation she had just have through the paper thin walls. It was full of lies, half truths, and understatements. He knew it and so did she but, as they did during their previous meetings, none said a thing about it. "All the vaults are sealed, and those _soldiers_ are supposedly taking care of things within them."

"How are the infected reacting to the attention drawing equipment?"

"That name is still stupid, I don't know why the one I came up with wasn't approved. As expected, they are doing their work perfectly."

With a touch of disinterest, she asked."Casualties so far?"

After searching for an update to the estimated amount in the database, he pointed out "Over three thousands."

Moving her sight away from the paperwork, she looked at him for the first time. Sceptically, she said "So… we have lost most of our forces in the last hour? Maybe we overestimated our own capability. Maybe I should ask for the whole city to be purged."

Even for him, the irony of her suggestion was clear. "We have lost twenty three of our agents by now, most of them during the riots that erupted while the civilians were getting inside of some of the shelters. Little more than two thousand deceased civilians had been confirmed, but the number keeps raising. Also, the last report raise the human lost from the armed forces to little more than eight hundreds."

"Two thousands… I can work with that. If the casualties of our men keep raising, increase the security measures."

"What about the soldiers? We should aid them. Our PR department will have a hell of a time explaining why they suffered over thirty times our casualties."

"Let them be. They are not my responsibility, you are. Besides, in my eyes, being so happy to be able to shoot their weapons and all, they are doing their job as bait pretty well."

Thumping on the floor with his halberd, he refuted her argument. "They are barely freshmen! Of course they are! They still think nothing can go wrong and, when it does, they die, so the word ain't spreading. Most of them are just arrogant brats who joined because the army does little more than anti-riot duty these days and Citizens are dying because of their foolishness! This all will come back to bite us in the ass."

Not bothering to raise her sight again she said "We were short of manpower, we should be glad that they were sent in our aid. There would be way more casualties if there were an outbreaks within any of the shelters or the infected got to spread freely out of the city. We must play the hand we had been dealt. Which reminds me, are the infected in early stages being dealt with?"

Before answering, he sighed. There was no point in trying to change her mind. "We are doing it as fast as we can, but time is playing against us and she is exhausted. Othala is no longer able to make her improve in any noticeable way, the disease is past the point of no return, so I'll say she'll be able to keep at it for one, maybe two more hours if we are lucky. After that, we better have found a cure, or a way to slow the process down."

"Still no trace of Zero?"

"There may actually be. But I can't confirm it. Miss militia made a call, but there were strong interferences. She said something about a sample, but we lost her signal shortly after."

Pounding her desk with both hands, she exclaimed "Did you sent a rescue party?! If her helicopter have been downed… we can't afford to have another infe..."

"No." Armsmaster cut her. "That's not what I meant. Her locator beacon and the one on the helicopter are still online. They'll be here soon."

Trying to recover her composure, she returned to her paperwork "I'll wait then. Send them to report in as soon as she returns. You may leave." Seeing how he wasn't leaving, she added "If there is something else, give me a minute to finish this, and you will have my full attention." for a while, Armsmaster stood waiting, seeing how she filled all of the documents. "At last." she said stretching her neck. "Now, what else can I do for you?"

"We should try to ask for Blasto's help. He's the only bio-tinker still nearby enough to be of use, and he will be more than willing to work with dragon. We are on our last legs and, if we fail to locate Zero, he could be of inestimable aid. You should try again, and get an authorization to contact with him."

"Already tried, thrice. They wont risk this situation to escalate. We would have to give him access to the virus, and that's not going to happen."

Without another word, he left the office. It was unbelievable. His career was going to be tainted because a case fifty three chose his city to spawn in. There were some problems but, to the external observer, the city was doing well enough. The big gangs were keeping each other at bay, giving them time to deal with the lesser ones. In a few years, some of them might have even been eliminated. The quarantine should have been established when they found the disease as he proposed. Now, if the mess they were dealing with was solved, the Empire will have the upper hand with most of the casualties being members of the merchants or the ABB.

The anxiety surrounding him wasn't aiding to improve his humor either. The encampment was akin to a concentration camp. Infected people sort by the stage they were in. Ironically, those in the early stages were the ones with the worst odds of surviving. At least, the PRT agents were having some degree of success calming everyone down. They were also done with the kids... kids were always a PR pain in the ass.

After a few minutes patrolling the camp, he saw a helicopter approach clumsily to the improvised heliport. It was in a deplorable state. One of its doors had been torn off and smoke was dancing around the rotors.

While it was landing, Miss Militia, alongside with some PRT agents, got out of it. Her mouth was covered with a handkerchief in addition to her usual scarf, probably to help her breath within the smoke filling the cabin. The others were in better shape, their helmet's breathers reducing the amount of smoke reaching them to an almost nonexistent amount.

"Where… cough, cough… where is dragon?" she said as Armsmaster got within her vision range. "I got this, but don't know how long it will last." in her hand, an almost empty water bottle was hold firmly.

"Already incoming. She will get to us in a few seconds." Getting closer, he offered some physical support. There was nowhere to sit nearby, but a hero laying on the floor could bring them bad press at a later time.

She was still coughing when Dragon made her appearance. Her armor was unpainted and slightly bigger than the standard humanoid power armor. It was the first time ever that she was seen using anything that was still a work in progress, but the situation wasn't one you see every other day either. With its circuitry still visible here and there, its lights making her shine while flying in the darkness of night, it was hard to identify it as one of her creations. "That's it?" She said while pointing to the bottle with her mechanical hand. Taking Miss Militia's nod as the confirmation that it was, a red light illuminated the bottle and some mechanical clicks came out of her helmet right before she took it out of Hanna's hand, taking off without another word.

"We should go see Piggot when you recover your breath. She's been waiting for you." Armsmaster pointed out.

When she was able to breath again with some degree of normality, they headed for the office. The lights were off, and a humming was coming from the inside. After knocking on the door a few times, they got a response. There was only a dim light illuminating the room, but they rolled with it. Piggot wasn't proud of her special needs, nor liked it when she was seen like that, so everyone avoided to mention it.

"Where is she?" Piggot inquired.

With some measure of shame, Miss Militia said. "We lost her."

"And what about that sample you mentioned?"

"Dragon is already on it. She may have some positive results in the next hour." Armsmaster hurried to answer.

With a hurting tone, Piggot addressed Hanna. "At last. It took you way too long to get it. Had you not shot her in the first place, this whole mess could have been avoided easily." more relaxed, she lied down on her chair.

"It was an accident, as I already reported. I made a shot to prevent her from killing another girl, but then her father thought I was going to kill her and shoved me. That left aside, I think she was under the impression that she was just like any other infected."

"Why is that?"

"I was trying to bring her here, without letting her know that I knew who she was. On our way here, I tested the grounds, just to be sure about where she stood. When I was sure that she wasn't doing it willingly, I outed her, but before I was able to explain everything to her, she throw a helmet against the door to drag our attention and then disappeared."

"Disappeared? How?"

"Maybe some kind of teleportation or strange power. I don't really know."

"Then," Armsmaster inquired "why was the helicopter in such a state?"

"I think there was some kind of EMP thrown at us. A few seconds after her banishment, everything went off for an instant and we almost crashed. The pilot said the computer was able to reboot, but the most delicate parts were burnt. We tried to search for her in the nearby area, but the pilot was reporting new system fails every minute, so we hurried back here."

"Where did you lost her? We must sent some search parties at once."

"We were flying over Winslow High."


	9. Chapter 9

Days since infection: 6

It was beautiful but, at the same time, terrifying. As it was closing, the different cracks were still allowing some smoke to cross. Still trying to recover my breath from the first teleportation I did just to be able to get out of the helicopter, without breaking it apart, I observer how the smoke got through the rift.

Truth be told, I had no idea of how I missed it the first time. It was appealing, calling for me to touch it and, that close, I was able to hear the white noise it was emitting clearly. Also, there was some kind of pattern in the sound, but I was unable to decipher it.

As the space finally blend together, cutting out the smoke flow, only bright gray tendrils remained. After that, they began to wave, showing beautiful bright-colored designs from time to time. As I circled them, I noticed how they all united in a dark solid spot, right in its middle. It was pretty much like an oversized amoeba with impossibly thin pseudopods. The middle point was fixed in space, while a dozen or so tendrils moved back and forth as if trying to find something to hold onto. Some would withdraw for others to sprout from a different side every now and then. Carefully, I moved one hand closer, trying to touch them. My hand passed straight through them, making a little chill appearing at the base of my skull.

All of a sudden, the tendrils moved as one, wrapping around my arm without really touching it. If I moved slowly, they would match my movements, while painless sparks jumped between them and my gauntlet, making me feel as if they were actually touching me.

When I freed myself from its eye-catching sight, and its caressing touch, I noticed how a panicked man was looking at me, while wielding a broom, from behind a cracked crystal pane with blood stains on it. The safety room he was in had its door blocked with a couple of shelves. He was talking, his lips constantly moving, but I was unable to hear him. Probably because the room was soundproof.

Letting him be, I got out of the hall, into the street. Once outside, I realized that I was in the Madison Square Garden. Well, inside of Penn station, but it was mostly the same thing. How did I got there was probably through my second teleportation, something unexpected given how little effort it required, but that was irrelevant given the scene I found myself in.

It was late in the night and the streets were a touch too empty. Small sounds reaching me from far away, echoing through the desert streets. Some vehicles were parked in the middle of the road, a few of them missing their doors. The stands I could see around weren't that lucky. The were lying around surrounded by trampled hotdogs, ice-creams, and what appeared to be the remains of half eaten shawarmas or burgers, there was even an 'All Salads!' stand.

All of that lacking in importance given the state of the building right in front of me. It was probably twenty-something stories tall, its whole structure covered with red pulsating tendrils, the worst part being that they were disturbingly similar to the ones I was able to manifest. To make it even worse, there was also what looked like a pair of overgrown cocoons attached to it. They were hanging at about fourteen feet from the street level. A moving shadow visible within them.

I knew this was where I went when I triggered, and the portal had something to do with that, but I filed that train of thought for later and focused on something else. I was related with what was happening. Not only one, but two cities were suffering a zombie-like outbreak. Since I had been in both of them, I must have played an important role in it. Either I got infected while I was there the first time or I was its source in the first place. Whichever were the right one, I had being infected for almost a week, but I was still myself. It was reasonable to think that I was at least partially immune to whatever it was.

Had I been the one to spread it, both should be in the same state, but Manhattan was worse for wear, so it should have all begun there. In movies, there was always this person or animal called patient zero, so, if I was able to found it, maybe someone would be able to find a cure. The problem was how to do it. My powers were really good for infiltration, not that I didn't have some extra tricks under my sleeve, but none of them were good for tracking.

Going back through the portal would be pointless. Being in New York, Legend should be around. With him there, the rest of the Triumvirate should have joined soon enough. But that was only a new source of unknowns. Shouldn't Eidolon be able to handle the whole situation on his own? Why weren't they talking about it in the news? I could have bought censorship as the cause, had it been somewhere else, but there? People would have noticed it if suddenly one of the most populated cities in the world were quarantined.

I was pondering about my possibilities when one of them got out of the meaty building. It was an infected. His state way more advanced than the one I saw in those guys out of the shelter, showing some protuberances under his bloody clothes, though he wasn't as developed as the big one who almost crushed me into a pulp. As if knowing I was there, he headed for me.

When he was about to hit me, I rolled to the left, my whipfist already formed. Before he was able to attempt a second time, I shot it forward, my stabbing fingers penetrating him easily. Making a fist, I retracted my arm, carrying half of his chest along. Even with my reserves almost empty, I was able to handle them, my strength and other skills unaffected. Something I was glad of.

To my left, was the post office, so I headed there. There should be some working computers from where to check on the news about the city. The doors were closed, but I saw some windows over them, so I broke one with my whipfist and jumped inside.

Carefully scouting the place, I noticed how most working stations were disorganized, things you will usually found on them scattered around. When I finally found a working computer, conveniently placed behind the locked door of an office, there was a rotting corpse over it. Beggars cant be choosers, so I rolled with it, setting it aside unceremoniously, and got to work. There was obviously no internet connection, so I was once again wasting my precious time for nothing.

When I was about to scream, as a way to vent out a bit, a helicopter was heard outside. Rushing to the nearest window, I broke through it, landing in the middle of the street.

What I was trying to achieve? Get some help, information or guidance. Learn which was the actual situation of the city. Offer to give them a hand if needed. Something on that lines.

What I got? The sight on a helicopter getting away while a literal horde of mutated people, in all shapes and colors, chased it. It definitely wasn't my day. I was between both parties but, with something new to focus on, they let the aircraft go, surrounding me. Somehow, they knew I wasn't one of them. How? That slipped through my fingers. I was infected after all.

They were still approaching when I had an idea. They were working as one. Maybe they had some kind of hive mind? Or at least a way to recognize each other and detect those uninfected. If I consumed one of them, I would also have that knowledge. Besides, I would know if they were aware of what was going on and, maybe, be able to disguise as one of them.

I didn't want to do it, but I had no choice. The building around me were too tall for me to jump over, even if I used the whipfist as a hook to increase my range, and, even if I were able to think of another way to do it without killing them, I was on my last legs. Any plan I came up with should take into account that a few lucky hits from them was all I could sustain before my reserves were gone. Before the first one of them reached me, I grabbed him from a few paces away, and consumed him, then, nothing changed. Yes, I felt how my body stored the new matter, but there were no new memories, nor a new shape. They were just that, walking meat. Whatever will was making them move was out of my reach.

As they reached me, I was hit countless times. But they were weak. My strength, easily overcoming theirs. So I just feed.

For long minutes, I did just that. Almost for every strike I was the target of, one of them would become a part of me. After the first four, I was already at my maximum storage capacity, but I was able to absorb them anyway, feeling how the excess was just... Not there, when I was done.

At that point, my assailants being little more than a nuisance, one of the things that actually bothered me was 'where was it actually going?' and 'was I able to take it back somehow?'

Their ranks were unending, so I eventually got bored and ran away. To my surprise, they only followed me for a little bit, distant shots taking their attention away.

When I got to a green zone, with plenty of trees on both sides of the road, I turned right. Maybe I could reach to the shots source taking a little detour. Following the road, I found myself in front of a dark tunnel which went under a building. From it I could hear the constant sound of weapons being fired.

Not wanting to risk it, I jumped over the two-story building on top of it. The roof was devoid of life, so I run forward at my top speed. Once on the other side, I saw were all the commotion was coming from.

Huge concrete walls were protected by lots of marines wielding rifles and, incredibly enough, rocket launchers. Some tanks were blocking the access gates while a helicopter, maybe the one I heard a while ago, was on a helipad, still running.

There were no para-humans in their ranks or, at least, none with evident powers. Neither was I able to see any of the PRT armored vehicles. It was somewhat upsetting. Had they been left behind? If so, I should jump there and lend them a hand, but, how would they take it? If my intentions were mistook again, I might make them reduce the pressure on the actual threat.

There was no way for me to aid them without also posing as a threat, so I just waited. If things worsened, I'd just jump in and help, whatever the cost.

For normals without any evident tinker-tech with them, they were doing pretty well, taking turns to shoot and aiming for the heads. How well trained they were was unquestionable, though fear might have had a part in it.

Then, the assaulting force got reinforces. Things, quite like the one I found in the van but bulkier, fell from the rooftop right on top of the one I was hiding in. The tanks began to turn their cannons, probably aiming for them, but the things were faster.

While they were taking the nearby tanks apart, the ones further away shot them down. Unfortunately, with the gate unprotected, the smaller infected got inside, so I got there too, trying to help with the containment.

While I was holding them there, a garage gate opened, and I saw him for the first time. They were carrying him inside of a glass container, filled with a red liquid, and guarded by soldiers in black. Before I knew what was going on, they got into the helicopter and departed.

Suddenly, while I was still fighting the infected horde, all the soldiers were aiming at me.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10:

It wasn't a good way to start my day. But it was even worse if you take into account that I had being awake for the last twenty four hours.

I had no idea of why they were shooting me in the first place. It was plainly stupid. Even when unknown, you don't go and shot anyone who's actually keeping your stuff together. Not to say how stupid it was to attack a cape in the first place. Sure, they could have thought that I was going to get infected, but that would leave them with days to work with before I was an actual threat. What was worse and made it even more stupid, since they were trying to shot me down, not only were the infected getting through the other gate, but also through the one I was guarding. Soon, their base was overflown, they all killed. People could be stupid like that.

I wasn't in the mood to fight the infected again, so I jumped out of their grasp. First, to the top of a nearby wall. Then, to the roof where I was originally hiding in. They observed me, but were unable to reach my position, though they were gathering beneath me.

Far in the distance, I was able to see the helicopter getting away, heading to the river, and something reddish jumping from one building to the next, following its trail. Maybe I should follow them too. If he was the patient zero, maybe they could synthesize a cure, or a vaccine, and the thing could be trying to avoid it. They were all trying to get into the facility he was in after all.

Either way, with my portal, I should be able to carry whatever medicament they developed back to the bay fast enough, but the problem was how to get them to not shot me on sight again.

I really didn't get why the everyone was shooting at me lately… well, that one time when I was killing people at the hospital was justified, but, beside that one? I was being law-abiding enough to not be shot.

"Hands up!" was the shout that took me out of my absorption. Turning around, I saw four guys much like the ones which were guarding the jarred guy. On the other side of the rooftop, four more were getting down of a black combat helicopter. Trying to avoid a fight, I returned my arm to its armored, human form, noticing how the armor I was wearing was almost completely part of my body.

"Could we please just talk this out?" I tried.

Their aims steady, he kept shouting at me. "Shut up! Hands up! You are coming with us! If you try anything funny, we will take you down! Sergeant, do it!"

One of them let go of his rifle, whose strap saved from reaching the ground and probably shoot us all accidentally, and drew a different weapon. While he was aiming for me, I noticed how it's magazine was giving off a dim red light.

I wasn't going to let them shot me with some weird weapon just because they were soldiers. I was done with being shot by soldiers. Focusing for a second, I invested most of my body mass to teleport away.

"What the fuck! How did she… fuck. Everyone better understand this. We. Didn't. Encountered. her. Is that clear soldiers?" I heard the same man order to the others.

Hastily, they all agreed with a loud "we do, Lieutenant."

Was I being just unlucky? Maybe. Were all the soldiers jerks? Most likely.

I was in the room right under the roof, hearing them, and observing the helicopter from behind the windows, when something crashed against it.

I had no time to recover my breath or wait for them to leave. They were taking him away for a reason, and, whichever it was, it would probably be bad if those monster killed him.

Without a second thought, I jumped through the pane. Making them all notice me one more time. Grabbing the first infected that got into my reach, I jumped again, trying to skip them by jumping over the crowd. On every land, I would consume the previous one, just to pick another. After just three forward leaps, I was out of the main group, and out of the soldier's weapons' range, so I ran straight to the smoke column I was seen.

When I reached the crashing site, the scene kind of a relieved me. Yes, almost everyone was dead, and that was a shame, but he was a few paces away from the helicopter main body and no infected was around. The substance he had been in, keeping him safe from the fire, making a thin pool around his body. As I walked inside, I noticed how it was slightly burning out my soles, but I deemed it unimportant, it could be mixing with the acid of the battery or any other number of things. Leaning over him, I checked him in case he had any injury, not wanting to infect him if he wasn't already, and carefully took the breathing mask he was wearing off.

As soon as I did it, he coughed, throwing up some of the liquid. "Mom?" was his first word.

"Sorry, I'm not your mother… Are you alright?"

The boy eyed me inquisitively, his deep light-blue eyes so clear that they were almost white, making a good match for his pale skin. He was younger than me, maybe eight or nine, and thin, almost scrawny. His clothes were old, if the worn out sleeves were something to go by, and soaked, pretty much like his short golden hair. There was no evident injury over his body, maybe a consequence of being trapped in that thing during the crash. I was unable to locate the container, so it probably was shattered.

After a while, he smiled, still mostly lying on the floor. "Would you help me find my mom lady?"

Lady, sure, because I was old. It's funny how something like that could made you get a bit mad. "We better get out of here first, the zombies are coming. Do you know anywhere nearby were we could hide?"

Placing his index on top of his chin, and his thumb beneath it, he made a thinking pose. Kids. It was weird to be holding a boy in my arms, which was probably cuter than me, while he was doing that.

"I know this place, the Manhattan borough repair shop. It's really close, and have sturdy doors, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to walk there by myself." blushing a bit, he looked away, into the river.

"Very well, tell me were it is and I'll carry you there."

Straightening a bit, he pointed to a half closed gate that was a few paces behind me. Kids.

Lifting him carefully, I walked us inside. The place was just a garage, the doors going into the actual place barricaded. Maybe someone hided there before. The floor was covered with bits of wood, a couple of mattresses, and empty food cans.

I lied him on the one that was next to a wall and took the pillow from the other, to help him to remain straight without much effort. When I decided that he was as comfortable as he would be, and the gate was securely closed, I took a sit next to him. "So, you want me to help you find your mother?"

"Yep, and I think you will succeed." he said with the gleaming smile of those who remained untainted by the world.

"But, how will I do that? Do you happen to know where she is?" I inquired.

"Nop," his smile not faltering.

"Look, I don't want to let you down, I really want to help you to reunite with her, but I'm not from here. I know almost nothing about the city, and even less about who your mother is or how to find her."

He tilted his head to the side while saying, "But you can learn. Can't you?"

It was getting a bit creepy. "What do you mean by 'learn'? Did she left something behind which could point out to her location?" before he could answer, I remembered something else, something I intended to ask him since the beginning, but, somewhy, didn't. "Whats your name, and why were you with those men, in that container?"

Undisturbed, he said "I'm Aphira, and, if you are thinking that it's weird, it means spontaneous and friendly. That said, they were protecting me."

"No, yea, I mean, it's a cool name. Anyway, protecting you? From what?"

"From the monsters. Obviously."

Exasperated, I took out the detector I was still carrying to check out the boy, just in case. Testing it, I found out that it wasn't working anymore. Whenever I pressed the button, it would just go red, even if nothing was close. With no better options left, I kept asking the boy. "And, where do I find the information I need to learn to be able to find your mother, while I protect you from the monsters at the same time? I guess there wont be an easy way to do it, right?"

Waving one of his hands dismissively, he said "Meh, don't worry about the monsters, I'm sure they wont bother me if I stay here." he scratched his nape, making a funny face. Probably thinking. "I don't remember his name, or where he might be, but there is a guy in the city who knows were she is. You should find his assistant and consume him. That way you will know how to begin your search."

"Seems like a… wait, what?" I asked in disbelieve, unsure if what I just heard was what I thought it was.

"You know aunty, May I cal you aunty? You looks a lot like my aunt, anyway, Easy two-steps plan, as you asked. You find guy, you eat guy. Should be easy. I even happen to know where he's hiding." when I stared at him shocked, his face straightened all of a sudden. "Don't look at me like that. I was awake when they took me out of the facility, and I saw you wielding that arm of yours."

Fearing it all to be a trap, I readied myself. "That doesn't explain how you do know that I can get memories from others, and it better be good, I've told no one about it."

His smile resurfacing until it twisted a bit the outer corner of his eyes. "Don't give me that look aunty. While I was in there, I heard them talk. A few days ago, when the outbreak began, a couple of forensic surgeons trapped a man inside of the morgue, behind a huge armored door. They made plenty of test to him, and he was able to manifest something akin to the thing you had in your arm. I just connected the dots and assumed that, if he could, you should be able too."

A man... Was he that man, the one I saw in the station the first time, the one from my dreams. The one with the hood. It was a possibility and he made his point. "Where's he know?"

"Dunno." he said casually."Last thing I heard, they were going to vivisect him yesterday. I don't know if he survived. Anyway, are you going to help me or not? They could be torturing her, you know?" Fucking kids.

"Do you know anything about this outbreak? You seems knowledgeable for someone of your age."

"I'm what… like eight? I know that they let a virus go wild and kill thousands, just to see what would happen because they said so. And I know that you have a good heart deep below aunty. I'm just asking you to help me find my mother. Is that to much?"

"Okay, Okay, but there is no need to kill him. I'll just ask for his cooperation. Where is he?"

"He lives on top of the Havana Central restaurant. But he wont tell you willingly, just saying."

"I'll talk him into it, don't worry, but, could you give me some directions? I have no idea on how to get there."

"Let me think…" moving away the cans next to his mattress, he began to draw a map "First, you turn right from were we are. Then, you must follow the river until you see a place called the intrepid museum or something like that. Once there, turn right again and go straight. It should be after the fourth or fifth intersection. He owns the tenth floor."

"Okay, I'll see what I can do. Are you sure you will be safe here?"

Giving me the thumbs up, he said "No prob. Good luck"

I was about to leave when I thought about something else. Something important actually. "Which is your mother's name?"


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11:

Manhattan made no sense. That, or people was crazy. There was a zone of the city which was dangerously close to be a post-apocalyptic district, while others were in a perfectly normal state.

The first time I noticed it wasn't that far away from the garage where I left the boy. I found a bunch of soldiers killing any infected which got close enough to them, but only those with mutations. Everyone else? They were letting them pass. I even thought about going back and bring the boy with me, but they were probably looking for him.

As soon as I got past them, apparently without drawing any attention, I got into an alley. The armor would probably draw too much attention from the citizens, specially when worn by a teenager, so, setting for what I was originally wearing, I focused on my armor for an instant. All at once, worm-like tentacles surrounded me, and, when they were gone, I was wearing a loose dark blue sweater and a pair of jeans. A perfectly normal girl.

Getting out of the alley through the opposite side, I mixed with the crowd. I had a long way ahead till I found that restaurant, and, for the first time since her sacrifice, that gave me the time to think without interruptions.

I was feeling strangely attached to the boy. I knew it, and there was little to no point in denying it. Don't misunderstand me, I wasn't harboring any romantic feelings for him but, somehow, he felt like family. He was odd, but also a kid looking for help, and that could actually be the thick of it. I was trying to be me, the real me, but I was working with half baked ideas and assumptions. A task even harder to do with all those feelings of anger, fear, and remorse boiling in my mind. They all distracting, each one in their own way. Nevertheless, I was sure that it was the right thing to do. Helping this boy was going to be one of many steps I would have to make if I wanted to make amends with what I had done. Besides, maybe the mother knew more about what was going on, or maybe this guy I was looking for did. Adults should be easier to deal with, and they could help me understand what was really happening.

The city wasn't that different from the bay, but was noticeably more populated. By the time I reached the place he had told me about, it was almost midday. The streets were crowded, people going about their business as if nothing were wrong, though I found not a single sign of the PRT on my way there, and that was curious. There were some daily stands, but I had no money to buy any newspaper. Either way, none of the front pages were talking about what was going on, so it was unlikely for them to mention it in an inner one. It shouldn't be possible to cover the whole situation that effectively. For god's sake, we weren't even half a mile away from the infected zone.

At least, there were some nervousness palpable in the air. Better than nothing.

The club I was looking for had a huge palm tree-shaped illuminated sign. On its right was the main access to the building itself, but the entryphone was broken. Both sides were occupied by three-story buildings, too high for me to jump over, so I did the only reasonable thing.

I got to the opposite building, which had frontal fire stairs. Standing under them, I made a slight hop and took hold of the ladder. People noticed me, but none spared me more than a glance after I began to climb them.

When I was more or less at the same level of the palm sign, I observed the street below, just to be sure that no one was actually looking at me. Then, when I was sure enough that it would work, I leaped forward.

The landing was a bit harder than I expected, part of the anchoring structure bending. As the structure collapsed a bit, I lost my footing, though I managed to support myself taking hold with both hands onto the huge aitch of the sign. Hanging there, people actually began to notice me, panicking and running away. Since that was what they should had been doing in the first place, I forgave myself for the mistake. At least, some of them will get far enough to avoid the deadly horde that would most likely come to claim their lives.

Climbing until I was on the top of the fake palm, one last jump got me on the roof of the building on its left. From there, I reached the window of one of the hallways and got inside.

Once inside, it was quite clear which one was the floor I was looking for, even if there had been no signs. One soldier was guarding the door while holding a grenade launcher.

With more or less an idea of what I was going to do already taking shape in my mind, I walked past him, as if heading for the last floor. Once I was close enough, I made good use of my power.

Aiding my already considerable arm's strength with a motion of my torso, I gave him a clean hit in his guts, making him bend over in pain. A second strike to his helmet took him out of commission.

Checking his vitals, I gladly noticed how something was at last going well. He was unconscious, but his heart was beating, he was breathing, and the helmet got the worst part of my strike. Lifting him up with ease, I took him to the last floor. There, I undressed him, taking his armor and weapon for myself and getting dressed with them, once I had reabsorbed my clothes and switched into a more fitting size for them. This time, I took the time to check and learn the name from the guy, as well as the other details in the documentation he was carrying in his wallet.

Once ready, I knocked at the door. "Mr. Mercer? May I pass?" I waited for a while, but there was no response. Trying it a second and third time didn't prove more effective. There was probably no one at home, and the soldier would wake up soon. In movies you usually got like five or six minutes and the police should arrive soon anyway.

Checking on the door knob, I realized that it was unlocked, so I got inside.

The place was unexpectedly austere. Filling cabinets, a pair of chairs, and a table was all the furniture it had. There was no way anyone would be living there, so maybe the kid was wrong, or lying to me, but, since the apartment was guarded by one of those black ops guys, there could be some useful information inside.

After almost half an hour going through the paperwork, I found one useful piece of information, yet not in the papers I was scanning, but in a wallet I found under one of the cabinets.

Inside of it, I found a few bucks, white plastic cards with numbers on them, and the driver's license of the guy I was actually looking for. The interesting part was that it had contact data in case someone found it, with a phone number and a direction in a sewed label. Maybe I could look for that direction, but first, I was going to give a try to the phone number.

I left everything more or less as I had found it, and went upstairs to check on the unconscious guard.

He was still sleeping. Maybe tired from the huge effort of guarding a room, so I took him inside of the apartment and laid him over the table. That way, no one would find a grown man sleep wearing only his underwear in the middle of a hallway, nor he would get sick for being almost naked on the cold floor. It would make useless the whole effort I placed into tidying the room, but he was just doing his work as far as I knew, there was no point in punishing him more than strictly needed.

While I was retracing my steps on my way back, also looking for a telephone booth, a boy approached me, trying to sell me a newspaper. I had the impression that it was a thing from the past, but I was apparently wrong.

"Hey boy, is there anything about the infection in there?"

"Sure sir! And its just six dollars each. You want one?"

That could be a good way to find out what the citizens really new about it, so I took my recently acquired wallet off. "I only have this one's. Is it fine?" I said showing him a twenty bucks bill.

Cheerfully, he handed me one saying "sure, there is no problem," but as soon as he took hold of the bill, his short legs took him away as fast as they could.

Since the money wasn't mine in the first place, but from some military jerk, I checked on the news instead of trying to get my change back.

International phone hacking scandal, the celebrity journalists coming to the rescue, man walking in road killed, county commission launches new year… Nothing even related with the outbreak. I was starting to hate kids. But, the last straw, the one that made me suspect something else was going on, was also in it. There wasn't even a reference to para-humans or the protectorate in it.

Was I over-thinking it? Maybe, but it wouldn't hurt me to check it. At least not too much. Halfway on my way to the river I finally found a phone booth. Inserting what little change I had, I made the call.

To my surprise, the number of the parahuman emergencies fast response came back as nonexistent. That was impossible… unless I was in another world. Was I in another world? But where? As far as I knew, and poor Madison was quite of a parahuman freak, there wasn't anyone able to swap between dimensions. At least no one who wasn't a tinker and placed under strict vigilance.

What's more, I wasn't in Earth Aleph, because there were some capes in it. Where was I then? Was people freaking about my actions because they didn't knew what a parahuman was? I had to return to the garage and get some more answers from Aphira., he was feeling way too comfortable around me, but first I made one last call.

"Hello, this is Mc Mullen."

"Good morning sir. I'm corporal Gray would you mind if I…"

"Get to the point corporal, I'm a busy man, you know? I don't have all the day to be playing around as you do," the jerk said.

"Yes, I'm sorry to interrupt you, but I was on ward duty when I found your wallet. If you tell me where you are, I'll gladly deliver it for you."

For a few seconds, Mc Mullen said nothing. Then, he spoke. "All right corporal. I'll be in St Johns Park in four hours. Can we meet there?"

I had no idea about where that was, but I could always ask for directions. Hopefully it wont be that far away but, if it was, I could just use some more of his money and grab a taxi or something. "Of course, I'll be there. Have a good day sir," before I was even able to finish the sentence, he hanged up.

With that more or less done, I got on my way to the garage. I should have a talk with him about manners once I got the other information I was seeking.

Being a soldier, people mostly moved out of my way, so I was able to walk faster on my way back. The barrier for the infection, established by the army, wasn't in the same spot. They were slowly retreating, so I gave them a hand. I shot my weapon a few times, but I ran out of ammo quite fast. Not like I was actually hitting anything with it anyway, but, when one of the infected attacked me, and I punched him dead, no one cared. They were apparently fine with one of their own beating the crap out of an infected with his bare hands. Who needs logic. But, since they didn't seem to care, I invested a few more minutes in halving their assailant's numbers. At least, some lives would be spared that way. I had to get a grasp on how this people train of thought worked, and fast. It would have saved me quite some troubles, had I have that bit of information beforehand.

The area surrounding the garage was still suspiciously devoid of threats when I got there, but I took the time to check it anyway. I was already annoyed enough without placing myself in the middle of an ambush. The only things I found to be out of place were the new scratches on the metallic door of the garage, but I could have been the one to made them when I closed it.

Once inside, I saw Aphira lying on his mattress while eating some snacks. A bunch of others' empty packages laying around "Where did you get those?" I said suspiciously.

"'ver t'ere" he said with a mouth full of chips while pointing to one of the darker corners.

"You lied to me, am I wrong?" I said getting straight to the point. That feeling of familiarity with him, already getting stronger.

"Not really. It depends on what you understand as lie," he said dismissively, rubbing his mouth with his sleeve.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12- Interlude:

Days since infection: 1

It was late, and the PRT ENE Director was just lying on her bed, and lying was the right term. Even with her eyelids shut, she was awake. There were too many problems piling up within her mind, driving her crazy. Her body was growing old, being as she was the oldest of her siblings, and most of her organs were already failing. The machine she was connected to was a substitute for her kidneys, but, soon, the doctors wouldn't be able to do anything to help her and she would die, though her father was probably proud of her.

For the last ten years, her task was successfully accomplished. She managed to keep her position as a well paid officer, her income wisely used to keep the facade, while every single cent she managed to embezzle was invested in her only and true goal.

The Wards were lacking psychological assistance, but hardly anyone complained about it. All of the kids focused on the extra free time they got out of it, none bothering to think about the money they were saving, or where it was going.

The Protectorate members complained frequently about the lack of resources, especially about the equipment, but, with the already scattered supply's deliveries they got, all of their complains were ignored. Probably because those high up thought that they were exaggerating, or most likely because they didn't care.

Even with all those daily matters still dancing within her mind, that night, they had a newcomer added to their lot. Since the previous morning, someone had being trying to twist her mind. It was subtle, how her emotions were either strengthen or weakened, Piggot's unique biology made her resistant to the external influence, but it was still an unexpected and worrying attack. She wasn't the only one being targeted, and that could be useful.

People was slowly getting somewhat apathetic and the process was even enough for none to notice or care. If it was kept that way, she should be able to smuggle even more goods and go unnoticed.

She was chewing over all those things when her phone rang. Checking on the number, she answered it "I'm Director Piggot. What do you need?"

" _Ma'am. We've got a call from a hospital. They have detected a parahuman. Armsmaster and Miss Militia are already on their way there,_ "The guy on the other side of the line said.

Was the new cape possibly the source of the effect that was affecting everyone? If so, it could be really useful. "That's alright, I'll read their report tomorrow. Now, if you don't..." suddenly, she realized that they wouldn't normally phone her so late in the night for such a matter. Something else should be going on. "Is there anything else I should know?"

" _Ma'am, the local police have found the remains of a possible murder within the main building of Winslow high, and the night guard is also unreachable._ "

"Not our problem unless you have any proof that involves the new parahuman with it… or any other cape for that matter," Capes could be useful on their own way, but they were just a pain to deal with most of the time.

" _I was about to get there ma'am. They took some blood samples but, before they could even analyze them, both, the samples and the source, came to life._ "

"What do you mean by that?"

" _I'm sorry sir, but we don't really know. They called for our help and the school is being sealed as we speak. Once the containment team arrives, we will have further information._ "

"I'll be in the headquarters as soon as possible. Contact with Armsmaster and order him to prioritize the recruitment of the new parahuman. We will investigate the relation he may has with the disappearance at a later date."

Hanging the phone up, Piggot started to dress up. If the cape was the source, she would be able to do one last move before she expired, and, maybe, be rewarded for it with an increase in her lifespan.

OOO

Dragging her feet along the hospital's hallway, Panacea was heading for the main gates. Unlike most days, she was wearing her mask, not because of any useless attempt at hiding her identity, but to hide the deep bags under her eyes. Vicky was already waiting for her there but, after almost twelve hours of work, Amy was so tired that she wasn't able to draw enough strength to walk properly.

She was trying to remain straight when, out of nowhere, screams were heard and, not a second later, from within the cafeteria, people burst forth. Something was scaring the shit out of them, and those who failed to run fast enough were walked over by the ones tailing them. More work for her.

Hiding behind a vending machine, Amy avoided the thick of it. When people was already gone, creaking sounds could be heard coming out of the cafeteria. Then, a heavy shot echoed through the hallway.

Taking a peek, she saw how a man was laying over Miss Militia, her weapon, in the shape of a large sniper rifle, still within her grasp.

Armsmaster heavy steps were the only sound audible over the unknown man sobs. He said something, but Amy was unable to hear his actual words.

When Miss Militia stood on her feet again and followed Armsmaster into the cafeteria, leaving the disconsolate man behind, Panacea got out of her hiding place and approached subtly healing those laying along the way. The instant she got to the door, Militia's weapon opened fire, literally breaking in half the arm of a boy who should be death with the amount of damage he had in his head. Probably some kind of brute with powers akin to Aegis' ones. Instead of showing any painful reaction, the boy headed for the bloody window and jumped through it, leaving his arm behind.

With a light touch, she confirmed that the crying man was healthy.

"Why did you did that?" Armsmaster said gazing Miss Militia.

"I was trying to save the girl. Hebert is obviously a high rate brute, so she will be fine," then, she noticed that Amy was approaching the shocked girl. "Good night Panacea. Be careful with the spilled blood, it might be dangerous."

Once next to the girl, trying to remain out of the dirty pool under her, Amy knelt down. "Hello, I'm Panacea. Can you hear me?" Amy said, poking the girl slightly, trying to draw her attention.

Madison was still shocked by the deadly situation she just went through, but managed to nod a couple of times while looking at the twitching arm on the floor.

"Do I have your consent to check on you and heal you with my power if you are injured?" after waiting for a consent that came in the form of another nod, Amy got to work.

The girl was perfectly fine. Not even a scratch on her skin. Amy was about to let her go when something happened. Out of nowhere, a virus began to spread from her urethra. To her shock, her perception of the girl began to spread. The part of her dress that was wet with urine was becoming a part of her, or more exactly, a part of the virus. Amy was already containing the infection, but, soon enough, the whole pool on the floor was withing her power's reach. It felt as if the virus were trying to circumvent her by constantly changing it composition, adding new DNA from its host or removing it from its own code.

She was tired, and there was no point in having an attrition battle with a disease, so she removed it all at once, causing the amputated arm to melt down.

"Here you go, do you need any help to stand?" the girl shacked her head, her tears zigzagging over her cheeks.

Letting her be, Amy approached the hero who was trying to comfort the man. "Excuse me, may I talk with you in private Miss Militia?"

"Of course Panacea," Hannah took Amy to a distant corner of the room. "Is the girl fine?"

"She is, but you must know that there is something in that blood," Amy said while signaling all the blood tainting the room. "There is some kind of virus in it. I _can't_ get the specifics of it, but I'll bet it's a tinker's design. It seems to be able to adapt quite fast to any attempt to deal with it. It was even able to somewhat elude my power for a few seconds. Besides, there was no sign of cellular infection. I think it was trying to get somewhere in the upper side of the body, but I prevented it from doing so."

"You mean it could be intelligent?" Hannah said rising her left brow in disbelieve. "Not that I want to question your capability, but, how can you be so certain about it if it you couldn't get its specifications?"

"Mostly because it constantly changed whenever I tried to dismantle it, but, even if I could get its actual composition, its function eluded me. It's the first time I get that response from a disease, so it's safe to assume that there is some kind of tinker tech involved. If the parahuman you attacked is the source, you may be facing an outbreak sooner than later."

"May you check us both, and Mr Hebert over there? We have been in direct contact with her, I mean the parahuman, before this."

While reaching out to Hannah's arm, Amy said "The man is clear, I checked him beforehand. Hum… You are too." eying Armsmaster, she added "To check Him I'll need some flesh to be exposed, maybe a hand." There was no way she would touch his goatee. Not in a million years.

"Thanks," Militia said, her eyes twitching slightly because of the smile she was portraying under her scarf. After an approving nod, she turned on her heels and got next to Danny. "Mr Hebert, Don't worry. Your daughter will be fine. I'll take responsibility for what happened here. This was all an accident, and we will find her soon enough. Once everything is solved, she will become a hero, like we talked before. Just calm down and lend us a hand, okay?" weirdly enough, the man seemed to calm down. "That's better, now, would you mind if we search your house for any evidence that could give us a hint about which her next actions might be?"

OOO

Once the order was ready, just in case, because they had the approval from Mr Hebert, PRT agents got into their residence and made a deep inspection. While the couple of agents were examining Taylor's bedroom, both of them women for PR sake's, they found a bunch of notes and notebooks hidden under some sweaters. After giving them a fast look, a cold chill ran through their spines, their blood frozen within their veins.

"Armsmaster!" One of them shouted running down the creaking old stairs. "We found something important! The wards may..." noticing what she was about to say while a civil was around, she cut her sentence midway. "You must see this. It's important."

Taking the notebook within his grasp, he opened its cover.

-9/27/2010: Sophia has taken my math's book and shoved it into the toilet before classes.

-9/27/2010: One of them pushed me down the stairs. I'm not sure which one, but bets are on Sophia.

-9/27/2010: I've being soaked with grape juice while I was in the toilet. The book I was carrying is unrecoverable. I don't know how I'm going to explain it to the librarian this time.

-9/27/2010: Science project destroyed by the trio.

-9/27/2010: Sophia stole my backpack. Found it in the trash can after school.

-9/27/2010: Madison…

Slightly panicking, he scanned the pages fast. His reading software turning them all into an easier to handle digital format. After a while, he finally found the name he was looking for, his suspicions confirmed. The girl that was mentioned so many times in all those incidents was the one he feared her to be. Sophia Hess. If what was written there was true, she had broken her probation, and she did it hard. Piggot will hung him because of the little bitch, and what was worse, from what he has seen, if the new cape discovered it somehow, the wards could be in danger.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13:

Days since infection: 1

The afternoon was already coming to an end, the sun barely visible over the horizon. Hanna was feeling really sleepy, even when it hadn't passed yet a month since the last time she slept. Those were the times when she missed her friend the most, she was always joking about how Hanna should find a good man to marry with, before she turned too old and lazy to do so, but mostly because she wanted to be the bridesmaid. The fact that Hanna had been waiting outside of Piggot's office, mostly alone, since she came back from Winslow high hours ago, wasn't helping either. At least Panacea's company kept her distracted for a while at first, but more than an hour had passed since she was also required inside of the office. Whatever they were talking about was probably more interesting than sitting alone in a mostly empty room with nothing to do but to look at the security camera and wondering why it wasn't moving anymore. Since Chris was the one in charge of the security room, she would have to scold him later about his tendency to play with the security cameras, again.

Her eyelids felt heavy and her mouth was a bit dry, but the coffee maker was broken. The only thing keeping her from falling asleep, then and there, was the weird tickle she felt inside of her skull. If her previous experiences were something to go by, the mother of all headaches was probably paving the way for its stellar appearance. 

At last, the door opened and Shadow Stalker came through. "Get inside, they are waiting for you." She said in a somewhat amused tone without missing one step to do so.

Hanna was still starting to stand when the girl hastily left the room through the window. Maybe on a mission.

As Hanna approached the door, she saw Armsmaster standing behind Piggot, alongside with Panacea who was still looking at the screen of the director's personal computer. There, reflected over Armsmaster's helmet visor, was the clear reflected image of the screen. It was the security camera's feedback.

"So, may I know what's this all about?" Miss militia calmly asked, not really bothered by the situation, though she knew she should be a little more interested in what was going on, but hastily dismissed that train of thought.

"If I may, Miss Militia," Piggot started, the intense look on her eyes unknown to Hanna "Could you tell us since when you can do that?"

For a while, the words confused her. She was doing nothing out of the norm. "Doing what exactly? I would appreciate some context."

"Look at your hands." Armsmaster added, the grip on his halberd tightening slightly.

There was nothing remarkable on her hands either, the knife was the first one she ever replicated with her power, and so was the gun, and old Makarov with signs of rusting over the canon. Both weapons carried dark memories and appeared at random when she wasn't consciously managing her power. Then, she finally noticed it. She was holding not one, but two weapons at once.

"I… I don't know. What is..."

The sentence remained unfinished as she collapsed, the splitting pain in her brain suddenly taking her consciousness away.

OOO

Days since infection: 2

The soft tickling light of the infirmary awoke her. Slightly opening her eyes just to stare at the offending lamp, she noticed how she wasn't the only one in there. All the beds were occupied, and a couple of women were standing in the middle of it. One was wearing a red bodysuit, the other a lab coat.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty," Assault said, his voice steady and clear, but way to high for someone inside of an infirmary, where people were resting.

He was in the nearby bed, having breakfast with only his headgear on, only the half top of his head truly hidden. Each time he took a new bite, the munches echoed through the room.

"Good morning, but please, keep your voice down while inside of the infirmary. You are going to wake everyone up with so much noise."

As everyone turned to her, the infirmary doors split open. A bunch of noisy PRT agents getting inside. Without trading a word with them, Panacea touched them all, gave them the okay and rushed them out. Slowly turning around once more, she approached Hanna's bed and sat on it.

"Miss Militia, I don't know how to say this, but you have been infected with the virus that girl is spreading." noticing how she was about to speak, Amy cut Hanna out with her way too loud voice tone "Don't worry about that, I already took it out of your system... mostly."

For an instant, Hanna panicked, what did she meant with mostly? She was able to heal anything… anything but the brain... Was the disease in her brain? If that was the case then she was damned but, somewhy, Hanna felt cool about it.

"Since you were already infected, Piggot called for Othala's help." The woman in red waved her hand "If this keep going on, we will need all the help we can get. It may have been a bad idea, but I couldn't really heal you without permission and she wanted Othala to give it a try first."

"Couldn't she have just waited for the next one to be infected once she was already here?" a disproving tone leaking through her words.

"In that, I must agree with her decision even if reluctantly, you were especial."

Hanna's right brow twitched "Especial, How?"

"I noticed that the disease have a different effect in parahuman, and she wanted to give Othala's power a try sooner than later."

"And…?" Hanna inquired, growing angrier with everyone apparently being incredibly noisy while shouting inside of the infirmary.

"The fast regeneration speeds up the infection process." Othala flatly stated, adding her grain of salt to the conversation.

"Yes, that's where I was going. I removed most of the infection from your body, but some inert bits remains here and there. Your sight and hearing have being improved a bit, but I can take it back to normal if you want. Also," pausing for a bit, she sighed "your Corona Pollentia has being modified. I don't know why, but the process was already taking place back in Piggot's office, it just made a large leap forward when…" Amy sighted "well, I guess you know that already. Anyway, I can't change that back, so I'll have to check on you from time to time to be sure it's stable. There may be other changes, but that's all I can tell you about it."

"Does that mean I'll be secluded until my condition is confirmed as stable?"

"Piggot wants you to reincorporate to service as soon as possible. We have already tested Othala's regeneration while you were sleeping and there seems to be no ill reaction on your side. You are physically fine but... would you like to have those changes in your senses fixed? Just know that they wont be permanent. They may last a few years, but they will progressively recede once your normal regeneration kicks in."

Thinking about it for a while, Hanna shook her head. "No need to do so. I'll get used to it, besides, it might come in handy. If I can't handle them or something goes wrong I'll just tell you," switching herself into a sitting position, Miss Militia took a few minutes to test her new senses before standing. Easily enough, the slightly dizziness went away after a few minutes and she was ready to get to work.

OOO

Days since infection: 3

"Any new reports?"

"Dragon has already offered to lend us a hand with this, but we should contact other tinkers. Armsmaster proposed Blasto and Cask. They are both potentially useful with this, but we could ask the toybox for help if we found ourselfs in a desperate situation. Glace or Cranial could both be a good option as a last resource given their specialties."

After checking something in her computer, Piggot finally nodded "I'll ask for their aid, but Blasto is not going to be allowed to mess with this. He's already dangerous enough as he is." switching her attention to Hanna, she added "Ms Militia, how was your check-up today?"

"I'm perfectly fine. The few remains of the infection are gone by now, but the improvements remains. Panacea thinks that there is no longer a point in having any more check-ups with her."

"Hum… so it took you just one day to recover with her aid…. This could certainly be useful for us if we manage to find a proper way to deal with the infection on our own. Have you noticed any drawbacks so far?"

"None that I'm aware of."

"Excellent. Battery, you and assault will patrol the docks. There has being some reports of disappearances and I have a feeling Zero may be hiding there. Miss Militia, you will be in command of the forces protecting Winslow high until new order. If there is nothing else, you may both leave now."

"Yes Ma'am" both women said in unison.

OOO

Days since infection: 4

Winslow high was inside a huge white tent, the dome preventing even the air to circulate freely. No parahuman was allowed inside, but normal humans were examining its hallways while wrapped in hermetic white suits. From outside the enclosure, in the control room, Hanna was managing the whole situation. Cameras attached to the helmets were giving her a clear view of how everything was developing. The inside of the school was invaded by some kind of meaty plant which was turning it into a gross, crimson and pulsating indoor jungle. Fortunately they were holding it back easily with fire. So far, the air was clean of any trail of infection, but the tentacled branches were growing what could be called buds, and they could bloom at any time, changing the way the virus was spreading from direct contact to airborne. They could just take those out and examine them in the lab, but Piggot ordered them to be left alone as long as possible to further understand its actual vital cycle and report to her if anything were to change. The more they knew, the easier they would find a way to fight it of.

During the first few hours of their investigation, a couple of officers where killed by the thing, but since then the plant kept mostly to itself, slowly spreading over every available surface. The corpses of both men were still hanging in the middle of the hallway with the thing's tentacles entangled around them. With only other two instances of infection so far, and with panacea dropping by every now and then, the agents were getting a bit carefree about their situation even with that image still there to remind them about how dangerous the thing could actually be, not that Hanna were worried about it. Besides, the strange cocoon next to the lockers wasn't shinning anymore, it's inner entity no longer visible, so the scientist in the van were the most interesting thing to observe.

The provisional lab they had inside of a van had plenty of samples to investigate from the various times they had to stop the things growth, but with tinkers already working in it, they were prone to accomplish nothing, being overall useless in the search for a cure. They knew that, so the trio of scientist were mostly playing around with it. A bunch of different test subjects were isolated within bulletproof airtight containers alongside napalm capsules. Most insects proved bad as disease carriers, something they were glad of. Once infected, every subject showed an increase of its appetite, based on its metabolism speed and size, being the first one directly proportional to the spreading speed of the infection and the second inversely so. The density of their body would then grow before the mutations could start to show of. Insects weren't funny in that respect, and would rapidly lose their ability to fly, followed by their ability to walk, soon enough turning into a new sprout for the plant inside of the school.

Bats were also quite boring. Once infected, they would just fall asleep and hibernate, efficiently slowing down the virus spreed rate but ultimately dying after a day or so, also turning into sprouts quite like any other small mammal they tried in on. It could have being a useful bit of information, but that was already known by the main researchers when they reported it, pretty much like any other discovery they made before that one.

But then, there were the cockroaches, that was where the fun was. Most of the time the scientist were looking at them with amusement while the little things worked together in an attempt to escape from their transparent prison, or ate each other in order to survive a little longer. Ultimately they would die too, but they were somehow able to postpone that issue by brute-forcing their way through the process, if they were given enough food, growing new appendages and turning into grotesque reminiscences of what they were. Eventually, their lives would have to end under the obliterating heat of the napalm but, until then, what harm could a bit of distraction do in the meanwhile? It's not like you can see a living being evolve by the second everyday.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14:

Days since infection: 1

With her mission crystal clear, Shadow stalker got out of Piggot's office. She was briefed long before panacea joined them, but Piggot allowed her to stay around for a while so she could learn a bit more about what she would be facing soon.

Her plaything was either dead or running around the city spreading a mortal disease, and she was saddle with the task to find and capture her. Of course, she wasn't going to do it out of pure respect for the rules and the command chain. During their investigation, some PRT agents found a diary where Hebert was keeping record of her life as a misfit, and Piggot was using it as leverage to control her. If that information was used, she would be sent to the detention center and her little brother would be left alone with their mother. The bright side was that, if she managed to capture Hebert, she would no longer have to worry about being a ward. Her so desired liberation was finally within her hand's reach and the only thing she had to do was beat Hebert just one more time. After her task was completed, she would be able to step out of the wards with her vigilante records cleaned.

Outside of the office was Miss Militia, ignorant of what was happening inside of her body. "Get inside, they are waiting for you," she said before heading for the closed window. Miss Militia was infected and Shadow Stalker wasn't planning to stay for too long in the same room as her, just in case.

After landing while in her shadow form, Sophia headed for Winslow, the twilight's shadows hiding her movement from the sight of the bystanders. She was supposed to meet with Emma that night and bring her along to her patrol, but part of her deal with Piggot included keeping it a secret from everyone, so she sent her a short message.

Until she managed to find Hebert, Sophia would be exempt from fulfilling any of her other duties, so she was out of the patrol schedule and would not be required to expend useless hours watching security cameras feedback back in the main PRT building. She would probably play with her for a couple of days, once she found her, before handing her over. It was going to be her last task as a ward anyway, so she would take the most out of it while she still could.

The first part of her mission was to determine whether it was her or someone else. According to the first known witnesses, she was first seen in the school, but there were also the remains of a possible murder and a missing person, who could also be the actual parahuman or just another link of the chain.

When she finally arrived to the school, its boundaries were already surrounded by PRT clowns who had already assembled their white big top. Observing them for a while, she rapidly found the pattern of their patrol's route and easily slipped in.

Once on the school grounds, no guards were in sight but, just to be safe, she kept her shadow form active and acted cautiously. Approaching a window, Sophia peeked inside. There was no one in the hallway, so she slipped through.

Quite sure there was no one around, she relaxed a tad, turned her power off and switched on her flashlight. The last shift was apparently already done with their tasks, so she took her time to properly search for any missed clue while trying to stay out of the security cameras' sight. The strange bloody garden which was vigorously flourishing next to the main gate was probably the place where the security guard died. Its vine alike thick stalks covered one of the walls and most of the blood-tainted floor, but there were no other signs that could help her to determine if her prey were the actual Hebert or if she were just one of its victims. According to the report she was given, the only trace they found of the possible murder was the blood itself, and that was already too twisted to provide any further information. Heading for the place where she last saw Taylor, Sophia hoped to have better luck there.

At first sight, the locker's doors seemed to be closed but, as soon as she tried to open it, the door gave way easily. The creaking hinges were already falling apart, so the door fell to the floor as soon as Sophia let go. Somehow she managed to avoid the echoing metallic sound by stopping its fall with her foot. Almost all of the presents they left for Hebert inside of the locker were gone alongside with most of her other stuff, but right there she found the first clue. The door was slightly deformed outwards around the middle with what could be the shape of a hand. Hebert got out of the locker using enough brute force to break the lock and damage its hinges. That meant she had powers, but there could still be another parahuman involved.

She was about to leave, to try to find any trail to follow, when a soft creak attracted her attention. It was coming from under her. Kneeling down, she pushed the door away. Sophia moved her gloved hand over the floor and, after feeling it for a bit, she noticed that it was uneven. There were bulging thin lines resembling the veins of a leaf expanding under her and a low electrical charge, that was slowly pulsating within it.

As soon as she noticed the process accelerated and, rising from under the floor, a red net wrapped around her, giving Sophia barely half a second to react. Activating her shadow state, it went straight through her, but the experience was incredibly painful. Luckily for her, the inherent speed of the flesh net was what actually saved her. By the time the pain registered in her brain and her power deactivated, she was already out of it, but carrying some painful cuts on the parts of her body that didn't made it in time.

Sophia was still laying over the floor in agony, surrounded by complete darkness, when she felt a caressing touch over her feet. It was warm and soft, touching her directly through her boots. The excruciating pain that she was feeling slowly receded with every new stroke from the unknown entity.

When the pain was almost gone and she felt able to move her body again, Sophia rolled a bit in the opposite direction of the thing touching her and sat up, resting against the opposite row of lockers. Two new things were decorating the hallway. One was a pulsating empty monstrous cocoon, the other some kind of otherworldly thing.

The cocoon, which was shinning with a dim red light, maybe because of the flashlight trapped inside, was probably part of the lobby's garden, which was obviously making its way into the building structure. The electrical charge that was running through it was already dissipating and the whole thing was slowly unfolding, allowing her torch to shine white again, with the bits of floor it had grown under remaining over its middle point alongside with the flashlight. It was much like a carnivorous plant snap trap, but bigger.

Inside of Hebert's locker was the other thing. I twas some kind of tentacled monster, but I wasn't trying to get outside of its container. Instead, it was caressing the nearby lockers with it's colorful appendages, which stood out on comparison with it's dark main body.

She was still trying to fully recover from the traumatic experience when a distant voice startled her. It was coming from the thing inside of the locker.

"...got… ...here..." the distant voice said.

Discreetly, Sophia reached for her crossbow. If it wanted a part of her, it would get it, or that's what she thought, since the numbness she felt all over her body was making the weapon hard to handle.

For a while nothing happened, but then there was a blinding flickery of white light coming from the thing's body. That's when she understood it. It wasn't a creature, but some kind of portal to elsewhere. Through the aperture she was able to see what looked like some kind of concrete building which had just been lit and hear someone's closing footsteps.

When she finally managed to adjust her grip on the weapon and aim it in the general direction of the portal, a heavily armored soldier appeared.

"Reporting from the main gate," she heard the masculine voice say "there is… something. I request backup."

When the light mounted on his assault rifle was turn on and pointed toward the opening, Shadow Stalker knew that something was wrong. The combination of blindness from the light pointed at her and the sudden static noise coming from her earbud made her lost her focus for a fraction of a second, but enough to make her strengthen her grip on the crossbow, firing it.

The bolt flew straight throw the portal, which closed slow enough to allow the pained scream from the man on the other side to reach her ears. Already in a state of confusion, the scream make her shift into her breaker state once more, just to see the gate open once again in front of her eyes.

"...yes,*gasp* I don't know why but… it's here again! I need *huf* reinforcements now!" after a second he added "Say again… …Negative… …I'm not going to… ...but… ...roger."

With the bolt stuck on his thigh, the man limped forward, but Sophia had already took advantage of the precious previous seconds to move away from his line of sight. The first thing to get through the portal was the canon of the rifle. It moved to touch the edges, poking them softly at first, but harder on each new try. There was coming no sound out of it, but the weapon would come to a sudden stop the instant it approached too much to the border. Deeming it safe enough, the soldier began to cautiously cross the fissure. Step by step, he got into the other side just enough to found himself on the wrong side of a crossbow. The tip of the bolt scratching against his helmet even before he managed to completely get in the dark hallway.

"Who are you," Shadow Stalker asked with an intimidation voice tone, the mask she was wearing bestowing a void echo to it. Her nervousness from before, gone.

"This is a private property," the soldier answered, "you better drop your weapon before the rest of the squad arrives."

"Really? Because you are using tinker-tech inside of an out of limits quarantined zone. Besides, I do not recognize your uniform. As far as I know you guys could be responsible of what is going on here, so you are going to answer my questions, but first, drop your weapon."

"*Ha ha ha*, You surely don't realize what position you are in kid," he retorted, the security with which he was talking telling her that he wasn't afraid of the old school weapon "You better take that..." But the feeling of a metallic boot kicking him in the stomach took his masquerade to an end.

The unexpected strength behind the kid made him bend over, taking half a step forward. The instant he was completely in the school side of the gate, the sound of an exploding bulb was heard from the other side and the gap in reality began to close once again. Taking advantage of his extensive training, the soldier overcame the pain and made a fast motion with his leg, trying to prevent the portal from closing a second time.

For an instant, Sophia didn't knew if she should be mad because of the lost or just laugh about what she had just witnessed. The man's plan to prevent the portal from closing ended up with a fleshy thud, followed by silence and then a high pitched scream. With nothing to stop his rotation from his well though kick, his body kept rotating for a bit, splattering blood around from his recently amputated limb, just to make him fall on his backside over a somewhat cushioned surface. The very second that the man's but made contact with it, Sophia saw the electric charge reappear, bringing anew life to the meaty floor.

The newly reformed bud was shinning with the light from both, the rifle and Sophia flashlight, making the contorted figure of a broken man visible through the layer of flesh. A few more cracks were heard, the man's bones slowly breaking. After a couple of seconds, his pained screams were muffle by the liquid that was flooding the inside of his prison.

She was still trying to figure out what to do when distant footsteps began to echo through the school hallway. Suddenly, the hallway's lights came to life and the grossness of the scene before her became evident.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15:

With the new light, she realized how deteriorated the floor tiles were, thin outward cracks running all along. Especially on the sides, where the roots were visible beneath them, spreading next to the walls and under the lockers. The lockers were way more corroded than usual, especially on their upper and lower sides, with a reddish tonality standing out from under the falling chipped paint.

A thick arc of splattered blood drops painted the ceiling of the hallway, a matching one did too over the floor. The closed bud was now pulsating, with a pained sound from it's guest accompanying each beat, tips of the man's bones rhythmically rubbing the inner surface of his prison.

Upon seeing that, Sophia realized how lucky she was to escape the way she did the first time around, and how little her insufferable pain meant in comparison of what she was witnessing. The outer layer of flesh was quite muscular, and the constant flow of electricity keeping it tight shut would have made it impossible for her to escape. Had she been trapped inside, there would have been no way out.

But last, and most important, the locker was once again its normal empty self.

Guessing she would have little time left, Sophia trusted her guts and switched into her shadow state. As she expected, the gate opened once again inside of Taylor's locked, as if reacting to her power. On the other side of the breach on reality the situation was slightly different. It was still the same place, but most of the lights from before were off, sparks falling from one of them.

After a second or two, a bunch of soldiers came into view, shouting. They were ordering her to kneel down and drop her weapon, but she had another plan in mind. Rising her weapon, she taunted them. The soldiers took the bait and shot their weapons against her. While the first bullet was still going through her intangible body, she confirmed her suspicions as the gate closed once again.

Unfortunately, the noise from the shooting echoed through the hallway and the distant sound of walking steps turned into those of running people. Hurrying in the opposite direction of the approaching footsteps, Shadow stalker reached the first corner and hided behind it.

A few seconds later, a quartet arrived. A couple of armed police officers were escorting a pair of scientists. An exhausted old man, who was wearing a cyan brace, said something between heavy breaths to the agents and one of them approached to the cocoon. While he was doing that, the other scientist began to install yet another camera in the hallway, the new one pointed toward the new sprout, with Taylor's locker most likely falling within the frame.

Once close enough to the pulsating bud, the agent took a combat knife out of his boot sheath and poked the organic structure with it. There was no visible physical reaction from it, but Shadow stalker saw, through the lenses in her mask, small electrical paths expanding beneath the walls and within the tainted ceiling.

He hesitated for a while, anxiety and fear painted all over his face. As if asking for a confirmation, the officer turned around. After the old man made a gesture, he reluctantly proceeded to stab it, trying to open a hole to see what was hiding inside. His trembling hand was barely able to hold the knife properly as it approached the thing. The very instant that the tip of the blade made its way through the thick skin, the whole building was shacked. A crack ran along the ceiling and a hard-looking huge spike exploded down over him, a back-step taken out of fear being the only reason he managed to dodge it, mostly. The bloodied tip of the spike found its way into the floor, breaking the knife's blade in two against it and carrying along with it the sleeve of the man's uniform, turning itself into a new pillar for the school's hallway.

Leaving them behind, the old man lost no time and ran away, followed closely by the younger scientist. On the contrary, the policeman tried to lend a hand to his injured partner. He was still trying to make a tourniquet to cut the bleeding from the torn open hand when a second spike broke them apart, pushing both to the ground. Rising as fast as they could, both officers ran for their lives.

From the relative safety of the position Sophia was in, she saw how more spikes tried to impale the men while some flapping tentacles attempted to tangle around their limbs. When a couple of screams were heard coming from the lower floor of the school, Sophia chose to leave the school grounds, just in case the thing decided to grow in her general direction.

Getting out of the building was a bit harder than getting inside, because she was supposed to pass unseen and the cameras would easily catch her with all the lights on, even while in her ghostly form. On her way out, Sophia heard some shots coming from the school gate but, whatever was going on there, it had nothing to do with her.

Given the location of the gate, it was quite possible that Taylor were both, the parahuman she was looking for and the origin of the disease. Turning on the phone she was given by her boss, Sophia made a call through the secure line.

"...you found her?" were the first words she heard from the other side of the connection.

"Not yet, but I confirmed that she is the one you are looking for. The problem is that there is some kind of portal within her locked, and it is possible for her to be on the other side."

"A portal?" Sophia heard some typing and paper rustling. "There are no reports about anything like that. How did you found it?"

After thinking a bit about whether or not to tell her the details, she finally spoke "It reacts to my powers, but gets closed right after each use."

"So you have been to the other side. Where is the exit located? We must find her before others do."

"No, you got it wrong, I've not being to the other side, but I'm quite confident it's another earth. There were soldiers on the other end, and one of them got to this world. Even though he spoke in English, I was unable to recognize his uniform. I was neither able to recognize the model of his rifle, but it didn't look like a high tech one to me. There is also a chance for him to be part of some private group's security, but that..."

"I know, that could be a problem, but they would have already reported a parahuman attack to us… unless they are part of some shady organization. Where is this man? Do you have him in custody? We must get him interrogated as soon as possible"

"Yea… about that… He's either dead, or wishing for it. That thing you keep in Winslow ate him."

"I'm being called from there, act on the presumption that she is still in the city and keep searching, we may be lucky. Check her house. There could be some tip on her whereabouts." Without further instructions, she hung up.

There was no real trail to follow but, at least, she knew who she was going after. Sophia had previously been around Taylor's house alongside with Emma, and it wasn't to far away, so she ran there. If she hurried enough, she would make it there with a few hours left to try to find anything useful before Taylor's father woke up.

OOO

Most lights within the house where off, but the one in the kitchen was shinning. Carefully approaching, trying not to alert the PRT agents parked on the other side of the street, she peeped inside. There, lying on the floor, was a lame excuse for a man.

Spread around him, there were the empty cans of a twelve pack and a bunch of dry bottles. His wrinkly clothes were full of wet spots, and his hair was greasy. A foul smell was coming out of the kitchen's window, probably because of the foul looking food resting over the counter-top.

Luckily, his reddened eyes were closed, so he was most likely asleep. As long as she kept the noise to a minimum, there shouldn't be any problem.

Climbing the backyard porch, she got to the second floor. Taylor's room was a mess, every surface covered by clothes, books and pieces of paper. The agents responsible of the previous investigation dug quite deep looking for anything useful themselves, but she found something useful after a while. Even with amnesia, you could still feel vibes from places you knew, and there were tons of references about the city's port. The pictures about different people over there were also abundant within the room.

Lost within her own thoughts, and probably as an after effect of the long hours she had been awake, Sophia didn't hear the creaking wood or the footsteps coming from the stairs. A weak voice took her out of her self-absorption.

"Who are you?" the man staring from the other side of the room's door asked. Suddenly, as if something clicked inside of his head, he became angry and broke his mostly empty wine bottle against the metallic foot-board "How dare you steal my daughter's things!"

An unseen eyebrow was raised in disbelieve as a response to the barely menacing broken bottle pointed at her. She was about to shot him a sedative bolt when an idea crossed her mind.

Rising both hands as a non-aggressive gesture she gave her answer "I'm sorry for trespassing, but there is no need to resort to violence. I'm Taylor's friend." Standing up from her knelled position, she added "I'm trying to find her myself, because it doesn't feel like the PRT will find her anytime soon. Could you please help me?"

OOO

Days since infection: 5

The vehicle finally arrived to its destination, a cave's entrance in the middle of nowhere. Their guide got out of the vehicle and urged them to leave any weapon they were carrying in the car. She did so reluctantly, even when she had known about it since the beginning. But she had a bad feeling about the guy. It was a bit cloudy, so the night was pitch black, and still he manage to drive for hours through the wildness with the lights off.

When they got close to the aperture, the man took some device out of the backpack he was carrying and handed it to the other man in the group.

"It's a pair of night vision googles, you are going to need them."

"Thanks," he said nervously. "hum.. why would she be in there? This whole thing seems a bit suspicious to me, no offense intended… I mean… I couldn't be more grateful for all your help… it's just..."

"Don't know sir, I'm just following orders. Now, let's hurry. There's still a long walk ahead of us."

Without another word, the party began the last part of it's journey.

On first sight, it was a natural cavern but, after a yard or so, a not so natural formation came into view. The tunnel was cylindrical and covered with some kind of fluorescent slimy substance. Swimming within the green slime were a plethora of worm-like creatures, each one unique and disgusting on it's own right.

The man guided them for miles through what looked like a maze with surprisingly ease. It wasn't, by far, his first time in there.

After hours traveling, and a couple of resting breaks, they finally reached their destination. On the other end of the maze, there was a room carved underground, the polished stone resembling marble.

"You will wait here," their guide said "And you will come with me."

She sat on the only couch in the room while the two men left through the only other access to the stance. The deeply decorated door closing behind them. After fifteen minutes of so, when she was starting to get bored and curiosity was about to get the best out of herself, the door opened once again, Mr Herbert refreshed figure standing on the other side. His whole appearance was oddly healthy.

"We can leave now" he said, getting into the room and closing the door.

"Oh? Did you found her? Where's the private? I would like to leave as soon as possible," she asked, curious about what was going on. Things wasn't going on as she had expected. Well, she supposed that there would only be two of them making their way out, but he wasn't the one she expected to come back with.

"That's none of your business, you just have to worry about escorting me. Anyway, hurry up, we have a long path ahead of us."

"Well, I don't know the path, so unless you..."

"I do." he cut her loathingly "Now, stop the meaningless chatter and move your ass."

If everything weren't at stake, she would have killed him then and there.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Days since infection: 6

What she was about to do was definitely not a good idea, but the call she got a couple of hours after her arrival at the camp seemed to be legit. Whoever it was knew her secret identity, something that didn't really bothered her, but did nothing about it or let any implicit threat slip through the message if she chose not to attend to the meeting.

Getting dressed as a PRT private with a borrowed combat suit, in order to pass unnoticed through the soldiers' ranks that would most likely be in the zone, she got out of the encampment and into the quarantined zone easily, no one questioning her twice when she asked for a vehicle. The ban on parahumans getting inside of the city was still in vigor, but none would look for her for a few hours and it should be more than enough to reach to her destination and return with some time to spare. Besides, if she were unfortunate enough to get infected, panacea could just heal her afterwards. It wouldn't be bad if she could get another little buff out of it anyway.

On her way there, she saw some civilians going on with their daily routines on the streets, probably those who were unable to reach the vaults on time. There were a few vehicles already circulating, but the traffic was still light enough to be considered nonexistent. The infection was mostly contained and the cure was already being mass produced while a vaccine was being investigated, so they had little to nothing to be afraid of at that point, beside the few stage four infected that were still running rampant here and there. Not that it were the best time to skip work either, with the amount of unemployed people looking for a job in the Bay.

Ever so often, she would slow down to take a look at the marvelous, even if terrifying, sight. Far in the distance, Lung was visible in all his glory, his huge wings beating up and down, and his upper body easily visible over the buildings. His fight turned into what could be described as a wrestling contest, since the fire surrounding them was fortunately long gone. His opponent was impressive on its own way. If an Endbringer were to attack them right then and there… it would definitely have a real hard time if both of them were to engage it. The mele in which both titans were entangled was in a stalemate. On one side, lung was unable to take hold of his opponent with his strength alone and his fire proved useless during the early stages of the combat, while his opponent wasn't strong enough to inflict lasting damage.

Allowing them to slip out of her focus, Hanna finally arrived to the cafe they were supposed to meet in. She scanned those already there, but none stood out, not that there were many customers in the first place, but they were all normal looking people. Since the table on the farthest corner from the door was empty, she took sit.

The waitress approached with an apathetic look on her face. "Good morning. Could I take your order miss?"

"I'll have a black coffee and a toast."

Not saying a word about her misfitting combat gear, the girl went back to the counter.

Once Hannah was on her own again, a red haired teenager, which was sitting on another table when she arrived, approached hers and took sit without saying a word. Her loose curly hair covered most of her face while the sunglasses made her eyes hard to outline. Placing her purse over her lap, she took a stack of papers out.

"I'm glad to see you showed up, we girls hardly have the time to chat nowadays, right?" with a giggle, she kept speaking "I now you may have a lot of questions, but none of them matters now. Remove every other thought from your mind and listen to me" with an exaggerated motion of her left hand, she pointed to the documents on her right "What you really should focus in is the information I have."

Hanna could swear she recognized the girl's voice, but was unable to pinpoint it.

"You know who I am and what I can do. If you do something funny, I'll take you down first and ask the questions later. This violates the unspoken rules and, if I were to made the call, you will most likely end up in the birdcage," Hannah whispered, obviously not in the mood for games. "Who are you exactly and how did you discovered my identity?" her tone dangerously threatening. If the girl refused to cooperate, she would take her under custody, probably not in a gentle way.

"Telling you who I am would be a fatal error on my part, even if I feel the urge to do so, but you are clever, you will figure it out by yourself given time." entrusting her with the documents, she stood up. "That done, I must say it's being a pleasure Miss… Hannah. You may try to arrest me but I must say that I'm not alone. Bye."

Suddenly, a dark mist came out of the toilets and flooded the whole establishment. The last glimpse Hannah got of the girl's smirking face, and the mist itself, made the dots in her head finally connect.

When the mist dissipated, she was alone in the cafe, every other customer and the waitress gone. Those brats were probably already hidden somewhere and there was no point in chasing them, not like she really cared. With nothing else to do, Hannah glimpsed at the documents she was holding. They were instruction of some kind, the first one being; go somewhere safe and as far away from the city as possible before you read the rest.

OOO

"Armsmaster," came the voice through the door. "may I come in?"

"Go ahead." was his answer.

Once she got inside, Miss Militia saw Armsmaster working on something on his benchmark while dragon's avatar was working with the computers. Apparently he was no longer helping with the development of a vaccine... or maybe it was already in a testing stage.

"Oh, good morning dragon. Is the antigen already completed?"

The cybernetic armor turned in Hannah's direction shaking its head. "We have had no luck so far, the virus constantly change, making the vaccine especially hard to design. At least, the treatment seems to work properly, as it evolves alongside with the disease."

"The cure evolves? That doesn't seem save… well, we will be able to chat about that in a bit. I hope you find one soon enough. Anyway, what I came here for is a matter of utmost importance that we must address before I lost control over myself again, and I think you could be of use. A local villain got in contact with me, and there is something else going on besides the disease." after a dramatic pause she said "We are all being mastered."

Their reactions were the ones she thought they would have, disbelieve.

"I don't thing I could be mastered because I'm not even here in the first place so, would it be safe to assume that's the reason why you want my assistance? I'm sorry to tell you this, but you were most likely make fun of. Nothing seems out of place with anyone I have interacted with." As expected, something felt off with her answer.

"No, I think you are being mastered too, even if I don't know how, but I've being told a way to somewhat resist its effects and I can now see how weird you guys are acting. The effect weakens the further away we are from it's source, but it also grows stronger the longer you are affected by it. Quite like with the Simurgh's song. As for you Dragon, it may be affecting you through the connection you use to control your Robot. According to her, any parahuman with any degree of thinker power should be able to overcome it given the right guidance and time."

"A villain told you how to protect yourself from an attack. Pfff... I don't think so." mockingly, Armsmaster added his grain of salt. The childish tone in his voice a bit unsettling.

"That's not the point and, once you get over it, everything will be crystal clear. Please, think about this for a second. What issues are Brockton Bay going through right now?"

"I don't follow you Miss Militia. What do you mean by 'issues'? As you know, we are fighting against a disease. I would rather let the unemployment and gang issues for a later time."

"What about you Armsmaster, can you think of anything else?"

"I'm with Dragon in this. We should focus on the disease, everything else can wait. Once we have a vaccine everything will be alright." his words completely in line with what they were doing.

Exhausted from all the traveling she did during the morning, Hanna took sit in a nearby chair, throwing a bunch of photographs over Colin desk. There were plenty of images of a huge dragon enveloped with fire fighting a giant humanoid dressed in half burned rags. The nearby buildings were teared apart, some of them on fire. The remains of burned people and thrashed cars playing the part of a carpet in the gruesome spectacle.

"We have being ignoring this for a whole day as if it were nothing, even when we used the Endbringer alarm system because of it in the first place." she added.

"Yes, that.. that is Lung. I knew that, what about it? You should… wait, this is… give me a second, I must check something..." with that last words and the sound of hardware going into overdrive, the cybernetic body of Dragon suddenly switched off.

"I still don't get it, would you mind if I keep working on this until she's back?" without waiting for a response, Colin turned around and ignored Hanna in favor of the little trinket he was working on.

The gauntlet of his armor was disassembled, all the pieces evenly scattered over his working space. There was also the carcass of a detector lying around, so he was probably trying to add it to his repertoire of gadgets. A good idea, if you were to ignore the fact that he was relaxing in his lab while upgrading part of his armor in the middle of a crisis were he should actually be wearing it.

With nothing else to do, and a slight dizziness spreading through her, she got to the mattress Colin kept in his lab and laid there. It would be her second nap in two days, but she was feeling psychologically exhausted. Right before she was totally embraces by Morpheus, the noise of spreading cracks draw her attention back to Dragon's drone.

OOO

In a lightly illuminated room, two shadowed figures were staring at the security camera's feedback.

"They have finally found a way to evade it" the one resting on an armchair said.

Turning into a more corporeal form, the other one asked "What now? I'm not done with my task, but it's not my fault. Can I expect you to fulfill our agreement?"

With an inhuman smile on her face, one her partner could not see, she spoke comforting words "Don't worry about it. I'll keep my part of the deal. We will make sure that your brother has everything he needs and keep an eye on your mother. Unfortunately, I can not take any risk, so you will have to leave us for now."

"How much time will I have? I'll like to say goodbye to my brother."

"The paperwork has been laying in my desk since we made our agreement and I've already set some administrative gears into motion just in case, so you will most likely be leaving tonight. Make the most out of your travel home, make your mother sign the documents you signed and bring them back by nine o'clock tonight. Everything should be ready by them. You better leave now, I'll have a busy afternoon."

Leaving the office, she headed for her bedroom in the wards wing. While on her way there, she gave a fast look at the papers on her hands. The bitch would keep her part of the deal, but she herself was unable to fulfill hers, so she would have to leave the bay for a while as they had agreed. It was all worded as if she were the one willing to be translated instead of the other way around, but her mother would probably not bother to read it.

The strange trip she made the previous night was still bothering her, but it was the reason behind her boss keeping her word after all, so it was probably better to just let it go. At least she would no longer have to deal with other wards nor have a ban on mortal weapons once she arrived at her new destination, Q3. Also know as Eagleton.


End file.
